


Shinobi short hand is for the battlefield, NOT for flirting! (Unless you're Kakashi.)

by FridayKnights



Category: Naruto
Genre: Deaf Character, Deaf!Iruka, Falling In Love, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Sexual Humor, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 04:19:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15655638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FridayKnights/pseuds/FridayKnights
Summary: Kakashi, who is known for wearing his mask in public, has a hard time communicating with Iruka, who he just found out is deaf. They communicate through touch, and sometimes lip reading, when they're together. It turns out that Kakashi is one hell of a flirt when using his shinobi short hand skills.Who knew?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I found this story written in my laptop that was drafted from back in 2016! I patched it up and decided to post it.. Enjoy!!

The night life in Konoha was never much to talk about. Most of the village was inhabited by shinobi, who were outside of the village more than they were inside. The civilians rarely mingled with shinobi, due to their shockingly different lifestyles. It was even more rare for shinobi to be interested in civilians, considering the likelihood of crossing paths were close to none. Even the marketplace in the shinobi section were run by veterans, those who needed something to do after their lives were rudely ripped away from them due to injury, or mental instability, on occasion it was simply because of old age.

Kakashi wondered if he'd reach that level of insanity any time soon. Some days he'd much rather be selling fruit and homemade candies, even if he didn't like sweets, than using his bare hands to kill on command. Especially now, with his person of interest looking through the Granny Smith apples with such an innocent look on his face.

Iruka-Sensei was... well, he was _adorable_. Grown men shouldn't be adorable, but Kakashi couldn't find a better word to describe him. What wasn't to adore about Iruka, after all? He was charming, outspoken, and confident in himself. He could also silence a whole room with just one look, whether it be a room of pre-genin or a room full of jounin, it simply didn't matter.

Kakashi hadn't talked with Iruka much, actually. A better way to put it is that they haven't talked at all, his attraction was purely based off of what he could see, and what people have told him about Iruka. Kakashi was curious, to say the least, and wanted to approach the other to see if all the wonderful things he heard were true. So far, Gemma was more than right about Iruka have the nicest, rounded bottom in all of Konoha. Kakashi was thankful his mask stopped him from drooling. Anko had been right about Iruka looking cute wile concentrating, he was nibbling on his bottom lips as he picked up a few groceries.

He watched as Iruka placed a few apples into the paper bag, as well as some spices and dough. He paid with a cute smile on his face, and headed east towards his home - or where Kakashi assumed he lived, he wasn't exactly sure. A part of him wondered if Iruka were making apple pie for Naruto. He'd mentioned something about having pie when he got home from his mission with team 7, maybe Kakashi should have actually listened.

Kakashi's own feet headed west, he wasn't about to follow the poor guy home, no matter how badly he wanted to make sure Iruka arrived home safely, and to see if he actually planned on making Naruto a pie.

He trudged his way to the cheap bar right on the outskirts of the marketplace and scored a secluded booth were he could drink mask free, and in peace. It was later in the day, long after he'd eaten dinner, and it had been a stressful week having to deal with twelve year olds and their unpredictable mood swings. Kakashi was in need of a drink, maybe two.

It wasn't long before he heard Genma and Anko fighting about something. He didn't have to strain his ears to figure out where they sat in the bar when the two made it very known. Kakashi peaked out from his booth, and spotted the two sitting right at the bar, shouting at each other, and the bartender had his ears covered with soundproof headphones. Lucky bastard..

But the shouting stopped, and soon their expressions turned to huge smiles. They waved their arms frantically to get someone's attention.

"Iruka-Saaan!" Anko purred his name while waving the teacher over. She patted the stool next to him, and the chunin happily sat himself down.

"Glad you made it, buddy." Genma nodded in his direction. "I know you're not much of a drinker, but you could use the night out."

"A beer or two won't hurt."

"You got that right, sensei!"

There was no time like the present, but Kakashi stayed put in his booth, finishing the last of his pitcher of beer. He was going to need every last drop if he wanted to approach Iruka and not make a compete fool of himself, some liquid courage would help him out. Of course, he didn't want to do it while Tweedledee and Tweedledum were around, that would only make for endless harassment and teasing if they caught him trying to flirt with Iruka. Thankfully, they both had low tolerance for alcohol, within the next few shots they'd either be on the floor sleeping, or have their heads in the toilet. Sometimes Kakashi wondered why he hung around those two in the first place, but they were fun company some nights.

Iruka gingerly sipped his cold beer and snacked on the complementary peanuts in front of him. He chuckled every time Genma of Anko did something stupid, which was more often than not. He had only made it to his second beer before Genma was dragging a semi conscious Anko out of the bar. Iruka said he wanted to at least finish his drink before he left, so he stayed behind, and looked almost glad that he didn't have to deal with a drunk Anko. Kakashi was glad that he didn't have to deal with a drink Anko, either. His sympathy went out to Genma.

 _It's now or never.._ Kakashi skillfully slid into the stool next to Iruka in one smooth movement. He looked over with mild surprise to see copy ninja Kakashi sitting beside him.

"Yo." Kakashi smiled as their eyes met.

"I almost didn't feel you coming.. It's Kakashi-San, right?"

"Yes.." He could muster up a nod.

"Would you like me to buy you a drink, I think I can squeeze in one more for myself, but four is my limit."

"Sure thing, Iruka-Sensei. I'd be honored."

"What was that?"

His face read of confusion, and Kakashi was certain he had just done something wrong, even though he was uncertain of what that something was. Iruka sighed heavily, and looked down towards his drink.

"Kakashi-San, I... I can't read your lips through your mask."

"Excuse me?"

Iruka only looked more confused, with just a hint of hurt. "I'm deaf, Kakashi-San. I can't hear you.. nor can I read your lips with you wearing that mask."

 _Oh.._ Kakashi silently cussed at himself, and then at Genma, Anko, Gai and even Tsunade who couldn't once mention that fact that the _oh so adorable Iruka-Sensei_ was deaf. Naruto of all people hadn't mentioned it either, none of team 7 had for that matter! It didn't effect his attraction in the slightest, but Kakashi would have liked to know before he approached the poor guy. Iruka looked so helpless and hurt. He wanted to communicate with Kakashi without making him remove his mask, and Kakashi surely didn't want to take it off in public.

"Oh!" The teachers face lit up as an idea popped into his head. He took hold of Kakashi hand, and simply said, "Shinobi short hand."

Kakashi tilted his head in confusion, but when Iruka spelled out  _just like this,_ Kakashi took the hint.

 _Sure thing.._  he etched into Iruka's palm.  _I'll buy you your last beer._

"Thank you." Iruka's cheeks flushed lightly. He took his beer and chugged down the remaining liquid. "But only one more.. I really don't want to get drunk or anything."

 _I understand sensei._ The copynin moved his cold fingers across the warmth of the other' wrist, and drew the symbol for home, making Iruka turn bright red, but he nodded his head.

"After this drink, you can _walk me_ home." He made it clear he wasn't about to hook up with a stranger after just one beer, kakashi guessed by his tone, and he could respect that. A walk home sounded nice, too. It was a beautiful night, one perfect for walking the man who was the 'center of his affection' home. Kakashi cursed himself mentally for sounding like Gai for a moment.

He rested his hands over Iruka's wrist, he didn't feel the need to say anything, he just wanted to feel Iruka's warmth. Even if it was just a walk home, maybe he'd get lucky and score a kiss too, or at least a time and place they could see each other again. The teacher was good company and always had something that he could talk about, and his stories were never dull. If there was anything Kakashi loved it was a well told story that captured his interest, and maybe Iruka's stories weren't icha icha related, they were still intriguing and fun to hear.

The touching was a little awkward at first,but Kakashi quickly got used to the feeling of having his fingers over Iruka's skin. Iruka had the softest skin he'd ever touched, compared to his own calloused and cut up fingertips he almostfelt like a newborn. The sensation was nice under the pads on his fingertips. The warmth and the softness of tanned skin felt nice under his touch and made him feel dizzy- but maybe it was the alcohol.

Kakashi couldn't help but wonder how other parts of Iruka felt. Was the sensitive skin near his navel just as soft? Was his whole body this soft and smooth to the touch? He wondered if Iruka was ticklish or sensitive in certain areas, and he couldn't wait to find out. For so long he imagined Iruka under him with his mouth gasped screaming out his name as his knuckles  went white from gripping the bedsheets. He snapped himself out of those thoughts as Iruka put down his beer and it  _clinked_ against the bar.

Kakashi had found himself drawing little circles in Iruka's skin, but quickly stopped when he realized in shinobi shorthand that a small circle meant  _finish_ \- usually referring to the finishing blow, but to Kakashi relief, Iruka didn't seem to think much of it. He must have noticed Kakashi zoning out, and assumed it was pure physical contact, and not instructing Iruka to kill the bartender.

"That's it for me. I'm at my limit."

Kakashi pouted.  _That's a shame._

"Walk me home, please. It's been a while since I last drank, I'll need another body to hold me up."

Kakashi just nodded and took iruka by the arm and led him out of the bar.

"You know, I haven't always been deaf, which is probably why you didn't know." Iruka mumbled. He was talking to Kakashi, clearly, but his eyes were looking up at the night sky. The moon was full and the stars were bright and scattered around the dark sky. "It happened only months after I became chunin, I was 17."

 _Tell me more._ Kakashi etched into Iruka's shoulder.

"It was a solo mission, I got caught up in an ambush on my way back. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in a loud explosion, I was right in the middle of it. It was a special made bomb that wasn't meant for me to pass through, I just was careless and don't check my surroundings well enough. The bomb went off, everything around me blew to chunks and when I woke up a few days later I couldn't hear a thing. The medics were hoping it was temporary but it's been almost ten years, i won't be hearing much of anything any time soon."

_Is it complete silence?_

_"_ No. It's just inaudible. It's very muffled and disoriented. I can't make out words or sounds because my ear drums can't pick them up properly. The explosion had given me a brain injury at the time, I fell out of the tree and knocked myself out from my head hitting the forest floor. Thankfully, the swelling was reduced and fixed within a few weeks after my rescue, they just couldn't save my hearing."

_You're lucky to be alive, even without your hearing._

_"_ I am very lucky. It's challenging though, trying to be a teacher when you can't hear what's going on around you." Iruka just shrugged. "But I like a challenge, and I have two very nice teaching assistants who helps me out tremendously, one of which is fluent in sign language and helping me learn it. She's also teaching it to the class to help communicate with me better. I'm forever thankful and so so grateful."

_I think you're pretty cool, Sensei._

_"_ You do?!" Iruka found himself blushing at that.

 _I_ _really do! And I'd_ _like to see you again_ _sometime. So we can talk again and hang out._

Kakashi offered up his best eye smile as he walked Iruka up to his door.

"I'd like to see you again too, sometime soon for sure. You know where to find me."

_When I get back from my next mission I'll come find you. Then we can go out for dinner, maybe._

"Like a date?"

 _Yes._ Kakashi, who would blame it on the alcohol, kissed Iruka on the forehead through his mask.  _I'd love to take you out on a proper date._

"I would love that, too. Goodnight, Kakashi-San."

And with that, Iruka made his way inside.

Kakashi raced home to sharpen up his shinobi short hand skills, he'd need to widen his vocabulary just a little to impress Iruka on their date next week.

He couldn't wait to see him again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some implied sexual content towards the end of the chapter, but nothing explicit! And a lot of flirting on Kakashi's behalf. Enjoy :)

Kakashi's week was filled with the usual d-rank missions with team 7. They pulled some weeds, chased a few cats and did a small scroll delivery mission towards the end of the week. Now that it was Friday, that meant they'd get this weekend off. Not that shinobi life often granted it, but they were genin and deserved a few days of play- which is what Kakashi told the kids, when in reality he planned on taking Iruka out so he didn't sign them up for a weekend mission. Either way, Naruto and Sakura were happy about it, Sasuke didn't seem to care if they had the time off or not.

They arrived back into the village around the time the academy usually let out. He saw off the kids and made sure they got home alright. Naruto headed towards the park with Sasuke, and Sakura was pretty tired from working all week long and wanted to see her parents. She didn't say that part out loud, but Kakashi could see it on the young girls face. She waived to her sensei as he she ran off in the direction of her house.

With the kids out of his hair, Kakashi raced home for a much needed shower and a light meal. If it were possible to wait till dinner time to eat with Iruka he would have, but his stomach was turning inward on itself due to hunger. His body hated going days or weeks without proper food, and ration bars were nowhere near that. They got lucky and found a little restaurant a couple days prior, but speed eating sucked after a while, especially with three nosey brats on his team that wanted to see his face more than they wanted to become chunin! Those three really needed to get their priorities straight!

So he ate as a normal pace and enjoyed every second of it. Even if all he was eating was some instant ramen and having a glass of water with it. It didn't matter, it was technically still a meal and it wasn't like one cup would fill him up much anyways.

When it reached closer to dinner time Kakashi made his way to Iruka's house. He probably knew that Kakashi and team 7 were back in the village since by the way Naruto talks, he goes to see Iruka every time they return home. Deep, very very, deep down Kakashi wanted something like that too, or someone he could come home to after a long mission, just to have someone say  _welcome home_ and greet him at the door.

He's contemplated before if he should meet a nice civilian man or woman he could do such a thing with. The term  _settle down_ was way too permanent and a fling was too casual, Kakashi wanted something that was in between. Someone he could return home to, and someone who didn't expect the world from him. He still had some darkness in his heart so deep rooted he was sure it'd never leave, and Kakashi didn't want someone he grew to care about see that side of him, he assumed if he never got too close to anyone such a thing wouldn't happen.

Kakashi's feet brought him to Iruka's doorstep, and just before he was about to knock, Kakashi mentally cursed himself for it. If he knocked, well... he knew he wouldn't get a response. Instead, Kakashi let his presence be known and sent some of his chakra through the door, just a little bit, nothing too overwhelming and he tried his best to make it feel casual.

It only took a moment for the door to open.

"Kakashi-san!" Iruka swing the door open with a pleasant smile on his face. His hair was down around his shoulders, one side tucked behind his ear. Iruka was dressed down from his shinobi uniform, only wearing a black t shirt and some plaid pajama pants.

It wasn't very late into the night, Kakashi said too himself, it wasn't much past dinner time, either. The sun was just about ready to set. but thinking too much into why Iruka was wearing pajama pants didn't do him any good, so he reached out for Iruka's hand and etched  _I couldn't wait to see you_ into his palm.

"I.. I couldn't wait either." He confessed with a light blush on his cheeks. "Wanna come in? I'm not really... dressed to go out."

Kakashi nodded and walked into the apartment after the teacher stepped aside. He stepped out of his shoes by the door and left his sandals next to Iruka's.

It was a nice little apartment that he had. It was more like a loft, really. Everything was right out in the open. It made sense when Kakashi thought about it, if Iruka was deaf then it'd be easier to live in a place where he could see just about everything, no hidden corners of hallways, no one could really sneak up on him. Not that anyone would get inside his apartment, but being a shinobi came with a dose of healthy paranoia, having an open space was making up for his disadvantage.

"Were you hungry? I could cook, if you'd like. I just made Naruto dinner, so I'm not very hungry, but there's left over curry and rice if you'd like any. Or I can make-"

Kakashi still hand his hand in Iruka's. He said  _I'm fine, thank you anyways. A drink would be nice, though._

"I can get you a drink!" He seemed happy with the request. He let go of Kakashi for a moment and went to the fridge. Iruka pulled out water and a beer, one bottle in each hand. Kakashi pointed to the beer and Iruka said, "I thought so. You had a long week with your team."

Iruka tossed the glass bottle to Kakashi and it he caught it deftly with one hand. He slipped his mask down after twisting off the bottle cap to take a sip.

"Saying I had a long week with those brats is the understatement of the century." He joked looking at Iruka, who looked stunned. "Is... something wrong?"

"N-No! Not at all!" He waived his hands dismissively and tried his best not to blush, which was a failed attempt. "I wasn't expecting you to let your mask down to soon, that's all."

"Well, you said it yourself you can't read my lips through the mask," he pointed out. "And I don't like drinking beer through it, anyways. Nice to know you buy the good stuff, sensei."

"I did say that, didn't it?" Iruka laughed and sat down across from Kakashi at the kitchen table. "I know we planned on going out, like on a date, but-"

"We can do it another night, I don't mind staying here and drinking a few beers with you."

"You don't mind? Really? I had an exhausting day myself, hence the pajamas. I wasn't sure if you'd come around tonight or not, but I knew you were back in the village if Naruto was, too."

Kakashi sipped on his beer as he listened to Iruka talk about his day. His students had been more rowdy than usual, and his teaching assistants were ready to pull their hair own. Iruka even had a cut on his arm from a poorly aimed shuriken that a kid threw at a target, which Iruka wasn't even standing near.

He wasn't allowed to teach weapons training, technically. One of the assistant, Hiro-kun, as Iruka called him, handled that part of the lesson. Iruka was allowed to advice the class, but because he couldn't he couldn't hear the weapons being thrown, sandaime was concerned that Iruka could get hit on accident by the children. It seemed like something he couldn't avoid, he said the kids called out his name as if he'd hear it before it grazed him arm. Iruka admitted that even though it was just a flesh wound, it scared him being hit out of nowhere.

"I don't get to go on solo missions, either. Even ones like the missions you take with a kids, I'm not even allowed to pull weeds on my own." Iruka had a pout on his face. "I may not be the best shinobi in the world, but I know my stuff! I just wish sandaime had a little more faith in me."

"He has plenty of faith in you, he just cares a little too much and doesn't want to see you hurt." Kakashi said to him. "You're important to the village, too. You mean something to a lot of people."

"I guess you're right, Kakashi. Thank you."

They moved from the table to the couch after a while and sat together while watching tv. There wasn't really anything on, there weren't many televisions in the leaf village to begin with, so there wasn't much to watch. Iruka had a lot of movies, there was a shelf above the tv that was filled with them. He must have watched movies to pass some time, especially over the summer when school was out and in between mission desk shifts. Kakashi recalled Naruto buying a few movies on the way home from a mission once or twice, he must watch them with Iruka too. It was cute how focused Iruka was on the screen, his eyes scanning over the lines of text on the bottom. But of course, Kakashi's focus wasn't on the movie, but on him.

The two sat within a few inches of each other. Kakashi had his arm around Iruka's shoulders scrubbing words into his shoulder.

_You look cute tonight, even in pajamas_

_I thought about seeing you again all week while I was away on missions_

_I wish I were your student just so I could see you everyday_

Iruka's face went fire engine red with every complement.

"You're too kind, really..." Iruka tried to play it off.

_I've been thinking about kissing you all night,_ Kakashi's fingers ghosted over Iruka's skin.  _May I?_

Iruka gulped by nodded anyways before closing his eyes slowing and leaning in for a kiss. Kakashi wanted to open his sharingan to record the moment, Iruka had reddened cheeks with trembling lips. His hands were balled into loose fists on his lap.

Kakashi didn't make him wait too long though, he pressed his lips to Iruka's softly and savored the moment. His lips were so soft and full, they fit perfectly against Kakashi's own lips. He could get used to this feeling, he thought. He pulled Iruka a little closer and deepened the kiss. Iruka happily obliged and scooted even closer. His hands were now on Kakashi chest, Kakashi had his arms wrapped around Iruka.

Iruka moaned while they kissed, if he knew he was doing it or not was a mystery, but he was loud and really into it, which turned on Kakashi quicker than he cared to admit.

_You sound amazing._ Kakashi had his fingers right about Iruka's waistband.  _You're an amazing kisser, too. You're so perfect. And sexy._

Iruka pulled away slowly, Kakashi wanted to pull him back but seeing Iruka with kiss swollen lips and a lustful look in his eyes surely made up for it.

"S-Sorry... I wasn't trying to pounce on you or anything."

_You can pounce all you'd like, cutie._

"I'm not really worthy of all these compliments, really!"

_Should I stop? I'm just saying what's on my mind._ He traced into Iruka's hip as he peppered soft kisses against his neck.

"I don't think you should stop..."

_Good, because I have so many things I'd like to do to you._

 

* * *

 

Kakashi didn't even make it half way home before bumping into Genma the next morning, who before he could even say anything had a HUGE grin on his stupid face.

"Nice to see you on your walk of shame," Genma teased him, making Kakashi groan and continue to walk past him.

"Hey! Kakashi!"

He wasn't letting the Jounin get away so easily!

"Drop it, Genma. I wanna go home and shower."

"Oh yeah? Had a fun night with Iruka, I see?"

That made Kakashi stop in his tracks.

"How'd you know?" He questioned.

"Anko lives in the apartment next to his," he told Kakashi. "She _heard_ the whole thing, ran to me early this morning just to tell me, too!"

"And you intercepted me just to tell me that? You're both bat shit crazy, you know that?"

"We totally are, and just wanted to congratulate you on the end to your dry spell. It was pushing close to a year since the last time you had any action!" Genma, like the crazy friend he was, patted him on the back for it. "It's about time! And from what I heard it was a good time for you both."

"I don't need you worrying about my sex live, worry about your own."

"Mine is fine, thanks for asking!"

"I wasn't asking, Genma. Now can I go?"

It wasn't a serious question, since Kakashi started walking away before he got an answer.

"See you later, lover boy!" Genma yelled out as his friend continued to walk off in the opposite direction. 

 

* * *

 

Anko was only supposed to use the key she had to Iruka's apartment in case of an emergency, but meddling in her best friends sex life was, in her mind, important enough to use the key and barge right in. Iruka was eating breakfast at the table when she swung the door open. He jumped a little when he saw her, almost choking on his cereal in the mean time.

"Jesus Christ! Warm me somehow before you just run in like that!" Iruka yelled at her. "You nearly gave me a heart attack! And wipe that huge grin off your face, it's creepy!"

"Oh, my darling Iruka!!" She twirled around, and looked pretty damn dumb in Iruka's opinion, before plopping down on the seat in front of him. "I heard you had company last night!"

"Yeah, I did. Kakashi came over." He said so matter-of-factly. "It was nice. He's good company."

"I bet he was~"

Iruka couldn't hear her tone of voice, but could judge that by the look on her face it was _completely_ suggestive.

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Iruka! I  _heard_ everything! You're so loud when you have sex!" Her eyes were practically glowing, for some ungodly reason she was enjoying this. "Was he a good lay?! It sure as hell sounded like it!"

"Anko!!"

"Come ooonnn!" She drawled out. "I wanna know! Tell me everything!"

"I'm not telling you  _everything_ you weirdo!" Iruka's face lit up. "But it was amazing.. holy shit it was... _so good_..."

"Well It has been almost a year since Kakashi last had any, so I'm sure he gave it his all with you," she added nonchalantly. "And he's been asking Genma and myself about you for a month or two now, so he's had an eye on you."

"Really?! An eye on me of all people?"

Anko nodded. "Ever since he was gifted with team 7. He'd seen you around before then, but never really noticed you until Naruto wouldn't shut up about how amazing Iruka-sensei was! And we talk about you a lot, too. Anyways, I'm happy for you, Ruka!"

She leaned over the table and clasped their hands together.

"Next time just put up a silencing jutsu so I can sleep the next time he stops by," Anko teased. "And make sure he takes you out on a real date, okay? He's not very good at wooing people, and it'll make for some funny stories. And we'll have new things to make fun of him for."

"Please don't make fun of Kakashi," Iruka pouted at the thought. "But... I will make him take me out on a proper date next time. And I'll keep the silencing jutsu in mind.."

"That's my boy!! I have a mission I need to get to, but when I return we can catch up!"

And with that, Anko was gone and Iruka could finish his cereal before his short shift at the missions desk. Even though all he did was file away scrolls and do monotonous paperwork and filing, he took pride in it. Iruka didn't want to be late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> better late than never, right?!  
> anyways, here's another chapter!

It'd been about a week since Kakashi last saw Iruka. He'd been called away unexpectedly on a mission, which thankfully didn't last too long, and didn't leave him with anything more than a headache and a couple of bruises. He probably should have sent Pakkun to inform Iruka he was sent away on a mission, but considering Iruka worked at the mission desk, he most likely knew that already. Kakashi didn't want him to think he was ignoring him for any reason, when in reality there was nothing more Kakashi wanted than to be drinking and making out on Iruka's couch, but he was in desperate need of a shower and a nap before any of that could happen.

He stumbled back into Konoha in the middle of the day, it was the middle of the week as well. Kakashi knew he had some time to burn before he could see Iruka, who he knew was busy at the academy teaching those snot nosed hellions who didn't yet know how to hold a damn kunai. Regardless, Kakashi had time to take the shower and nap he oh so desperately needed before Iruka's day of teaching was over. He'd been walking towards his own apartment, icha icha in hand, minding how own business, before he sensed a familiar and bold chakra signature. Inwardly, Kakashi sighed. He scanned his surroundings for a place to hide, but had zero luck.

"KAKASHIIII!!!!"

"Oh god.." he mumbled to himself. He could just ignore Gai, but that never worked. _Never._

"MY ETERNAL RIVAL!! I HAVE A CHALLENGE FOR YOU!"

"No thanks, and you're way too loud. I'm tired and have a pounding headache. You're making it worse." 

"AS HIP AS ALWAYS KAKASHI!" Gai had his head swung back and held his stomach as he let out a booming laugh. When he looked back to where Kakashi had been standing, he found his rival walking away from him. "Hey! Wait!"

"I don't think so. I'm going home."

"You don't have to challenge me at this very moment, our record is 51-52 in my favor!" He bragged, just a little bit. "We can postpone it for after your nap! Let's say we run around the training fields on our hands again! I've been practicing, you won't defeat me this time!"

Kakashi just ignored him and kept walking.

"Or maybe..."

_God, he's still talking?! See, it never works..._

"You want to go home and freshen yourself up to go see Iruka-sensei after?" Gai said innocently, but Kakashi knew better.

Gai's words made Kakashi stop in the middle of the road, nonetheless. He turned to face Gai who was already right behind him with a big dumb grin on his face. Since when did any his friends care about who he was sleeping with? And sense when did they care who Kakashi was spending his free time with? The sudden interest was a little nerving and unexpected. 

"So what if I am?" Kakashi said carefully. "And who said I even was?"

"My eternal rival has a fair maiden on his mind! How hip and sweet!!"

"Oh god, will you stop that?! We've only met up a few times!"

"Have you guys been on a date yet?! Have ya?!"

"Not technically, but tonight I hope. I won't be in the village for very long. I have to take team 7 on a scroll delivery in a few days." He said. "So I'm hoping I can see him tonight."

"Anko and Genma told me everything! Iruka-sensei is a good man! And very cute!" Gai winked. He  _winked_ and Kakashi thought he was seeing things, and the image was something he'd never get out of his mind now. It was burned into his retinas, was Gai really teasing him right now?!

"Alright, I'm gonna stop you there! I'm done with this conversation!" 

"I JUST WANTED TO TELL YOU IM HAPPY FOR YOU!!" Gai bellowed out as Kakashi booked it home.

 

* * *

 

Iruka was thankful that kids in his class were on their best behavior, kind of... his teaching assistants, Hiro and Aiko, were more than relieved, too. Hiro just turned 22 a few days prior, Iruka had went to the birthday party and had a nice time drinking and sitting around talking with the bulk of the academy staff. Hiro had dusty blonde hair and big, bright blue eyes paired with unblemished olive skin. He was taller than Iruka, but not by much and wore his headband around his neck. He'd been a chunin for a couple years and planned on training to become jonin, and hopefully one day a jonin sensei. Iruka could see him doing it, and he was great with the kids. They all loved Hiro-sensei.

Pretty much every boy in class had a little crush on Aiko-sensei, even a few of the girls did too. She was definitely a beautiful woman, she had long auburn hair the reached down to the middle of her back that was always in a neat braid. Her eyes were big and brown, she always had a soft and loving look in her eyes that could make anybody melt under her gaze. Her eyelashes were long and curled at the ends, all of the young girls in class were envious of them, Aiko found it humorous, they were just eyelashes she told them. Her voice was calming and soothing, at least that's what Iruka had been told, but he believed in 100%. Aiko was slender and tall, around the same age as Iruka, and always smiling. If he recalled correctly, they were in the academy around the same time, too.

She learned sign language from having a mother and an aunt who were deaf, she was born into a civilian family but her father had been a shinobi, though not a very notable one. Aiko was a chunin, and like Iruka, didn't see herself making it to jonin any time soon. She enjoyed working at the academy, and Iruka enjoyed having her there. They made on hell of a teaching team.

How had be gotten so lucky to have two great teaching assistants?!

Aiko has been going over the alphabet in sign language with the kids before the lunch bell rang. Their goal was to be able to spell their own name by the end of the day, and a few small words by next weeks test. The kids endured it for Iruka's sake, he was still learning himself, since no one had taken the time to teach him when he was younger. The sandaime pulled him from active duty for around a year and Iruka just learned to read lips. It wasn't like Iruka never tried to teach himself, there just weren't many books on the subject and he didn't know who to ask.

He'd been teaching with Aiko for almost two years now, and he knew it pretty well, but he wouldn't call himself fluent in it. He wasn't sure he could hold a long conversation using it, and trusted his lip reading skills a little more. It was nice that he had sign as a backup, though. Aiko always spoke and used sign at the same time, making it easier for Iruka to understand. What he didn't quite know yet from the motions of her hands he could read from her lips. It was perfect.

After the lunch bell rang, the kids ran out of the room and down the hallway. Hiro, Aiko and Iruka were left in the class cleaning up some of the mess that was left behind by their little hellions. 

"Did you want to join me for lunch, Iruka?" Hiro asked as he crumbled a piece of paper into a ball and threw it into the trashcan across the room. He acted as if he didn't miss. "I brought a big bento, there's enough for two people. How about it?"

"Sure, sounds greats. All I brought today was an apple and some water, but a bento sounds nice."

"You've been eating really healthy this past week," Aiko commented. "Any particular reason? Just on a health kick again?"

"Oh no, not really.." he chucked lightly. "I just want to maintain my shape, that's all."

"For yourself or someone else, sensei?" Both assistants eyed each other with a devious grin.

"Myself, of course!" He lied, it was a total lie, and it sounded like one, too!

Aiko sat on top of the desk with her arms folded loosely over her chest. "You're seeing someone, it's about time. May we ask who it is?"

"I wanna know too, Iruka! I wanna see my competition!"

"We haven't even been on a real date, I talked to him at a bar and he walked me home.."

"Then what?" Aiko pressed on.

"Then he came over and wanted to take me out, but I had a super long and stressful day that week, so I invited him inside. We had a few drinks, watched a movie... stuff happened." Now, Iruka had a blush on his cheeks thinking about it. "But I haven't seen him in about a week, he's out on a mission and due back today, actually."

"Oh, so he's a shinobi, too. Hm... is he a better one than me, is he Iruka?" Hiro, who even though sounded like he was teasing, was a little bit serious.

"I mean... he's a jonin with an old looking anbu tattoo, so he's pretty strong I guess."

Iruka knew he was completely undermining Kakashi, and definitely didn't make him sound like the great powerful hokage level shinobi he was. Oh well.

"I'm sure I could take him on with enough training!" Hiro had flexed his arms playfully and huffed out his chest. Iruka pretended he didn't notice, making Hiro pout in defeat.

"No you couldn't, shut up Hiro..." Aiko rolled her eyes, if she had rolled them back into her head any farther they could have gotten stuck!

"Make me, Aiko-san!" 

Iruka was so glad he couldn't understand their bickering. He had his back to them to moment they looked as if they were beginning to argue, he wasn't interested in their childish fight. They were great around the students, but they fought constantly when they weren't around. Apparently, they dated months before they were assigned to Iruka's class two years ago. Iruka suspected it was some unreleased tension they had between them, and maybe Aiko was a little jealous of Hiro always flirting with Iruka, and every other person who had two legs and a mildly attractive face that was over the age of 18. A part of Iruka could understand where Aiko's annoyance came from, he'd probably be annoyed with Hiro himself if their roles were switched. 

Someone opened the door and interrupted their fighting, though. Iruka perked up instantly as a familiar chakra washed over him. He knew right away that it was a clone that walked into the room, but he found himself inwardly jumping with joy.

"Kakashi-san!" He smiled brightly. "You're back!"

The clone had his back to the two assistants, he pulled his mask down just enough to expose his lips.

"I am, the real me is taking a _much needed_ nap, but I wanted to give you this."

"Oh?" Clone-Kakashi passed Iruka a small folded note.

Aiko and Hiro had their jaws on the floor.

Iruka read the note carefully. "Dinner tonight?"

The clone nodded.

"Alright, but no ramen. Take me somewhere nice."

"Only the best for you, Iruka-sensei." He smiled before disappearing in a puff of white smoke.

"So... a date with Hatake Kakashi, huh?"

"You're just jealous, Hiro-kun." Aiko mumbled under her breath.

"You're both jealous," Iruka sounded more proud of than fact than he meant to, but shrugged it off and folded the note before pocketing it. "At least I have a date tonight, I wouldn't wait up for me either."

"You best believe I'll be at your house later, Iruka!" Hiro said. "I gotta hear all about this."

Aiko chuckled and waited till the other assistant turned around.  _He's just jealous he's not the one taking you on a date,_ she signed to him.

"I know." Iruka spoke softly as he made the signs back at her. "Cute, ain't it?"

She blushed and looked away, _not really.._

"Also, Hiro-kun.."

"Yes, Iruka-sensei?" 

"Don't show up at my house tonight and ruin my plans of getting laid." 

"Ah, you're no fun!" 

* * *

 

The note from earlier had read: _Dinner tonight, wherever you'd like, I'll pick you up around 6. No, I won't be late. If I am you have permission to punish me for it. ;)_

For once, Iruka wanted the man to be late! Go figure.

So when 6 o'clock came around, Iruka was dressed in a nice white button up and black jeans. He didn't own much civilian clothing, but he assumed he looked nice enough to leave the house and not embarrass him or his date. 

He spent much longer than he cared to admit on his hair. Iruka brushed it at least four times before throwing it into a french styled braid, he thought switching up his hairstyle would be nice, and it kept the hair out of his face since he wouldn't be wearing his forehead protector, which usually kept the loose strands from falling into his face. Also, Anko had mentioned Kakashi mumbling something about thinking Iruka would look cute with his hair in a braid, Anko had also mentioned the other man was drunk when he said so, but Iruka was willing to take the chance. He looked at himself in the mirror again and frowned. As if how good he looked tonight mattered, the last time they met Iruka was in his most comfortable, though not very flattering, pajamas! But still.. he wanted to impress the copy nin! It was their first date, even if it wasn't their first time together. He'd been less nervous about sex than he was about going on an actual date with the guy. 

Iruka was pulled from his thoughts when a familiar sense of chakra buzzed at his wards, making the hair on his arms stand up, but it was mostly from his mixture of anxiety and excitement. With one last deep breath, Iruka swung open the door with a pleasant smile on his face, and greeted Kakashi nicely.

“You made it, Kakashi-San! And mostly on time, I’m surprised. Only two and a half minutes late, and yes, I counted."

Kakashi pulled his mask down for a moment. "Then I guess I deserve the punishment, sensei."

"Indeed you do, Kakashi-san." 

The copy nin had on a pair of black pants that were rather tight fitting, but looked nice. Over his usual black undershirt that had the mask attached was a dress top similar to Iruka's, but the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and instead of white, Kakashi's top was burgundy. Kakashi ditched his forehead protector all together and swapped in an eyepatch, but his crazy silver hair covered most of the fabric over his eye, anyways. He looked good- damn good. Iruka was all too eager to rip each item of clothing off the other man before their date even started, but he held himself back. And, he was actually pretty hungry. His growling stomach reminded him that dinner would have to come before the dessert. 

Iruka could get used to seeing him like this, though. Dressed down from his shinobi attire, no forehead protector or weapons pouches. It was a different side of kakashi he was sure not many people were honored to see. I

_You look nice._ Kakashi had taken Iruka’s hand while he had fawned over him. Iruka blushed at the sudden touch, but gratefully accepted it. The other’s fingers were warm and practiced, it just felt so right.

“Thank you... I could say the same to you.”

He fought back a blush as Kakashi grasped his hand lightly and leaded him out of his apartment.

“You said dinner was my choice, right?”

Kakashi simply nodded.

“Well then, I’m in the mood for sushi. There’s a nice spot near the academy that makes really good spicy tuna rolls, if you’re into spicy foods, I'm not really sure what you like,” Iruka was starting to ramble. “But ah, not everyone likes spicy food, and that's okay. I don’t like it very much either unless I’m in the mood for it. I prefer sweets, like chocolate and pudding. And.. oh god, why aren’t you stopping me from embarrassing myself? Better yet.. why can’t I just _shut up_?!”

Kakashi’s was... laughing?! Iruka frowned at first, but watching Kakashi, who had his head tilted back and his eyes pressed shut with tears threatening to leave them, was a sight Iruka wanted to see over and over again. The other man had always seemed so serious all of the time, it was nice to see him lightening up and having a good laugh, even it it was at Iruka's expense. Though he couldn't hear the sound of Kakashi's laugh? Was it deep? Loud? Maybe he had a soft laugh that was really more of a chortle, or maybe even a cackle. He found himself watching kakashi in amazement, as if seeing him for the first time, as he wiped the tears from his eyes. 

Iruka wished he could have heard it. Iruka wished he'd taken up Tsunade-sama's offer on making him specail hearing aids. He'd been so used to living without understanding what people said to him that it didn't even phase him anymore. It wasn't like he had never been curious what those around him really sounded like, he'd never been close enough to anyone to yearn for the sound of their voice, or the sound of their laughter, moaning, or the way they pronounce certain words.

He'd been told that Kakashi tends to sound bored when he talks? Did he ever sound bored when he was with Iruka? A small part of him was longing to find out. 

“Don’t laugh at me, Kakashi. I’m really nervous.. it’s been longer than I’d care to admit since I’ve been on a date,” he confessed. “My last date was with.… ah, well it’s not important.”

Kakashi knew that Iruka had dated Mizuki, the whole village knew they were a thing. When he was branded a traitor to Konoha, everyone had looked at Iruka suspiciously for months, but they were able to prove he hadn’t known a thing. All it took was a Yamanaka to invade his memories and clear him of any and all involvement in Mizuki's treason. Kakashi, personally, never took Iruka as the type to cover up such a plan as Mizuki’s, as lovable and kind hearted as he was, Iruka was in no way a traitor to Konoha. It was his homeland before his love, just the way it’s supposed to be.

Kakashi knew Iruka was the kind of guy you could trust. It was so easy to let his walls down around Iruka- well, maybe not the same extent as most people, but Kakashi felt comfortable with the school teacher and did't feel the need to hide any part of himself from the other. He'd never felt like that about anyone he wasn't already friends with.

_Don’t be embarrassed, alright?_  He moved his fingers to the Iruka’s inner wrist. His fingers ghosted over Iruka’s skin after scribbling the words over them. He was warm; Kakashi was drawn to it.

“It’s too late,” Iruka admitted in defeat, his head hung low. “But I have the rest of the night to make up for it." 

And the night had went smoothly. They sat in a more secluded part of the restaurant in a comfortable booth. After the food arrived, Kakashi had his mask down, sitting across from his date, eating and chatting him up. They talked about mundane things, mostly. Kakashi told him about his latest mission with team 7, since the contents of his recent solo mission were classified, and Iruka told him stories about his current students and missions desk antics in return. It was nice.

“Oh, and both of my teaching assistants are very jealous I’m on a date with the famous Hatake Kakashi,” Iruka added, his voice didn’t hide any of his pride. “Especially Hiro-kun. He’s been trying to get in my pants since we started working together.”

“Is that so?”

“Oh yeah, I’ve only been turning him down because I know he’s a player. He’s… one of those people who has a lot of charm and uses it to his advantage. I don’t know of anyone who’d turn him down.” Iruka said. “I just don’t want to be another person on his list. Don’t get me wrong, he’s great, but... as a coworker more that anything.”

“Will I need to talk with him?” Kakashi asked, he was surprised at his sudden need to be protective. “Just to make sure he stays away from you?”

“Oh god no, I can handle him myself. He’s just persistent. I will give him credit for that. Once he has his mind set on something, it's hard to derail him.”

Kakashi had felt a little pang on jealousy in his chest. He’d seen Hiro before, or his clone had earlier that day, rather. The assistant was handsome for sure, maybe even a few steps above handsome. If that man approached Kakashi in a bar, he was sure he wouldn't say no either. That didn't help Kakashi from not feeling uneasy about the guy, it just made him worry more. Hopefully, this Hiro guy would be able to take a hint if Iruka does decide he wants to get serious with Kakashi, which sparked the question: Was Kakashi up for anything serious in the first place?

“How’s your spicy tuna roll?” Iruka asked to break the suddenly awkward silence. “It’s good, right? Didn’t I tell you!”

“It’s really good, I’m glad you pointed this place out to me.”

“We’ll have to come here again in the future!”

Kakashi couldn’t help but smile, “Yeah, we will.”

 

* * *

 

They walked home in a respectful silence. They walked in step with each other, only a few inches apart. Every once and a while their hands would brush and Iruka would blush nervously before resting his hands at his sides. They didn't talk much after dinner, but there wasn't any real reason aside from being lost in their own thoughts. It was nice to be out after the sun had set, the air was cool and the moon was bright. Even a silent walk home was more peaceful than it was anything else.

Iruka’s eyes were glued to the darkened sky. Every start was brighter than the one he'd looked at previously, and seemed to sparkled against the black canvas. The stars scattered around the moon, a cool breeze tickled Iruka's skin as he sucked in a deep breath of fresh air. Suddenly, a shooting star flashed across the sky and Iruka gasped.

“Hurry, make a wish!” He said, almost childishly, but he looked as if he were in awe with the phenomenon. Kakashi wished he could still have such innocent feelings towards things that didn’t really matter, like shooting stars and sushi rolls. 

“I wish to have many more nights like this with you.” Kakashi had said out loud as he watched Iruka close his eyes and make his own wish.

_I wish to hear his voice one day_.. Iruka had silently wished before looking over at Kakashi, who was already staring at him.

“Did you make a wish?” He asked.

“I did.”

“I hope it comes true, Kakashi.”

“Yeah, I do too.”

He took Iruka’s hand again and continued to walk with him towards the teacher’s apartment. He’d have to leave for another mission in a few days, and wanted to cherish every second he had before he left. He'd never felt like this before, his skin warmed and his chest tightened at the thought. All of these new emotions were hitting Kakashi all at once, it was almost overwhelming, but he snapped out of it as Iruka gripped his hand just a little bit tighter as they walked up the stairs of his apartment building. 

When Iruka asked if he wanted to come inside, Kakashi had no intentions of saying no. Who could pass up a night with Umino Iruka? The almost perfect school teacher who was kind, gentle, one hell of a kisser, and had the kind of ass you could bounce a quarter off of?  _No one in their right mind_ is the correct answer! 

Kakashi happily followed him inside. Sex he could handle. Emotions? Those would take some getting used to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm (pretty sure) I mentioned that Iruka's hearing loss came from an accident on a mission, if anyone is curious it's ANSD (Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder). It's not that he can't hear at all, it's just hard for him to make out sounds / words when people are talking to him. His hearing is greatly diminished, though. Simplest way to put it is that what he hears in inaudible and he can't understand it. Hearing loss with ANSD can be mild to profound, Iruka is kinda in the middle. He can pick up some background noise, but can't understand what people are saying when they speak to him. 
> 
> as always, sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes! Comments and kudos are always appreciated!!  
> follow me on twitter if you'd like to talk @lgbtkakashii !! :D


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning came faster than expected. Iruka's alarm- which was more of a low frequency alarm that was made especially for him, it probably wouldn't wake anyone else up, but Iruka's ears were able to pick up the noise. It startled him awake more often than not, which was a downside, but without it he'd sleep well into the morning and miss a good portion of the school day. The alarm was the least pleasant part of his day, but all of that faded away as noticed Kakashi still asleep beside him.

Iruka felt his face flush as he stared at the sleeping face of his lover, a little drool gathered in the corner of Kakashi's mouth, Iruka would chastise him later for drooling on his favorite pillow, but the sight was something he knew he could get used to. Kakashi looked so peaceful and ethereal, like some mystical being out of the fantasy books Iruka likes to read. The pale skin, the light hair, his steel colored eyes, everything about him was so amazing. Even with all the rumors he'd been told about Kakashi, there was no way he could believe any of it, when the man in question sleeping beside him looked like an angel. Iruka couldn't find the will to peel his eyes away from the sight. The other man looked perfect. 

He started to wonder if Kakashi snored at night. The man could sound like a grizzly bear for all he knew, but he imagined Kakashi was a silent sleeper, all of his years as a shinobi would have taught him that. Then Iruka's mind drifted.. was he silent during sex, too? Iruka had been told that he was loud in bed, but didn't think about how loud or quiet his partners were until now. He'd come to the conclusion that Kakashi has made him think a lot of things he hadn't before, but now wasn't the time to get lost in thought. Iruka has to get ready for the day ahead of him.

Iruka kept his morning routine the same, guest or not. He took his morning shower, brushed conditioner through his hair a few times before washing it out, brushed his teeth in front of mirror and then flossed like his mother was watching. She'd always yell at him to get the teeth in the back of his mouth, too. The last thing she wanted was for her son to loose all of his teeth before he turned ten. Iruka laughed at the memory, he could still hear his mother's voice in her head. It was sad, but also such a wonderful thing that he was lucky to have never forgotten. Iruka made a wish to never forget her voice, her laugh, and the way she'd snort when his father would say something outrageous. Then his mind drifted to Kakashi again, and a part of him wanted to have similar memories about the copy nin as well, but realization set in quickly. He'd never hear Kakashi's voice, more likely than not. Even if he took up Tsunade's offer for a special hearing aid, there was no guarantee.

Iruka frowned while looking in the mirror. He wiped the toothpaste from the corner of his lips before washing out his mouth with water. He shouldn't think about such things, he knows, because it'll only make him sad. 

He turned to exit his bathroom, towel slung loosely around his hips, only to meet Kakashi's hungry gaze.

"I've never seen someone take so long to floss," he commented.

"Shut up, I take good care of my teeth."

"I never said it was a bad thing. Besides, the view is nice."

Kakashi's eyes scanned every inch of tanned skin. He'd been in nothing but his boxers and- were those Iruka's slippers?! He'd have to yell at Kakashi for that, too. He was making himself awfully comfortable.

"If I had time, trust me, I'd drop this towel and have you fuck me over this sink, but.." Iruka looked over at the clock he had in the bathroom. He was one of those weirdos who had a clock in every room.

"I know, you gotta get going soon." Kakashi just shrugged. "It's a shame, though. I woke up hungry."

Iruka felt his face go red. "Later we can satisfy that hunger of yours, you still have a few more days before you have to leave, right?"

"I'll be by tonight with plum wine, how's that sound?"

"I'd like that," Iruka admitted. "But uh, it's Thursday. Naruto comes over for dinner on Thursdays. So..."

"I'll come by after, no worries. I'll see you tonight, Iruka."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it."

 

* * *

 

 

Iruka had barely made it out of the door before Anko had fallen into step with him. She had a stupid grin on her face, and no matter how hard Iruka tried, he couldn't ignore her hard enough. Anko threw her arm around Iruka's shoulder and pulled him closer.

"You forgot about the silencing jutsu again!"

Iruka looked away from her quickly, already over this conversation.

"Aw, look at me!!" She took Iruka's chin and turned his head towards hers. "God, I'm actually kinda jealous of you right now. For you to sound like  _that_ for an hour straight. That damn Kakashi gotta be one hell of a lay. You sounded like a feral beast!"

"Shut up!" He face had never been so red in his life.

"Never!"

"He's good, though. Like _really_ good."

"I know, not from personal experience, just from word of mouth."

Iruka raised an eyebrow at that.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, it's not like Kakashi has been with a lot of different people, he's just been with a few people a lot of times," she said. "I won't name names, but he's practiced in the art of sex. He's the kind guy who likes familiarity, a creature of habit, some would say."

"Where are you going with this...?"

"Nowhere I guess, just that he likes what he likes, and he definitely has a type. But no worries!" Anko smiles brightly. "He's loyal, I promise I'm just rambling at this point."

"Sure..." Iruka sighed and looked away. "You're just trying to say I'm a familiar body to him."

Anko frowned at that. She wasn't great with words, that really hadn't been her point at all. Though she wasn't sure how exactly to explain what Kakashi's deal was. She poked Iruka in a spot she knew tickled him, he gasped and jumped away from her, making her laugh. Iruka's face didn't hide his disapproval, but at least he was looking at her again.

"You're taking what I'm saying the wrong way, I'm not sure I'm explaining myself very well, as usual." She said. "Kakashi does have a type, but he doesn't trust people enough to have casual sex with them, so every person he's been with has been someone he's actually trusted, and it lasted for a bit, because he trusted them enough to keep going back. You're one of the very few, and he's had his eyes on your for a while."

"Is that true?"

"Yes! Kakashi has been pinning for you for a couple of months now, he said all the talk about you around town made him curious." 

Iruka smiled softly at the thought. "I didn't know that."

"I mean.. you thought he was hot, too! So it all works out in the end! And he keeps coming back for more!" Anko teased, nudging Iruka in the side.

"Do you.. Do you think he trusts me?" The teacher asked, suddenly. 

"I think so, or he wouldn't have spent the night."

"I guess you're right..."

Iruka wondered if he should ask Kakashi about that later on, but was it too soon?

"What're you thinking about?" Anko asked.

"Ah, nothing... don't worry."

Anko decided to drop the conversation there, Kakashi's business wasn't her business, as much as she loved to meddle and try and make it her own business. She wasn't nearly as close to the copy nin as she was to Iruka. All that mattered in the end was that her friend was happy.

 

* * *

 

Kakashi was in the middle of a big yawn when Naruto had finally caught up with him. Had he been hiding from a twelve year old? No, of course not! Was he running away from Naruto, the answer was yes. Mostly because he's sensed Naruto and immediately heard the boy yell  _what were you doing at Iruka-sensei's apartment!?_ So naturally, Kakashi had ran off simply to avoid the question.

"KAKASHI SENSEI!" Naruto was now running at top speed to catch up with him? and Kakashi knew he'd look guilty if he tried to out run a genin. With a sigh of defeat, he stopped and turned, his book still tucked between his fingers, and faced Naruto.

"Oh? Look who it is.." He tried to play it off.

"You've been ignoring me for twenty minutes!" Naruto huffed and puffed as he caught his breath. "God, you just gave me my morning work out. Anyways, I seen you leaving Iruka-sensei's apartment building. I thought you lived near the Hokage's tower?"

"I do," Kakashi shrugged and resumed walking. "I had matters to attend this morning."

"Oh.. well I live near Iruka-sensei, too! I can see his apartment from mine, so... yeah... I saw you leave there... and..." Naruto was blushing and scratching the back of his head. "I've seen you leave a few times... um.... Sakura said you probably just slept over, but that's weird. Do adults even do that?"

Kakashi blinked, a little dumbfounded. "Uh, yeah. Adults do it all the time, just like kids."

"Oh." The boy looked as if it was all starting to come together.

"We had a sleep over," Kakashi continued, and even if it wasn't the whole truth, it technically wasn't a lie either, "I got too tired from talking all night with Iruka-sensei, so I crashed on his couch."

"I do that all the time!"

"He's fun to talk to."

"Yeah! He says I talk too fast sometimes so he can't read my lips, so I try to talk nice and _slow_ for him so I can tell him about my day!" Naruto had a big, happy grin on his face. There were a few sparkles in his eyes, too. "I love Iruka-sensei, if I had a dad, I bet he'd be just like him, believe it!"

Kakashi's chest tightened at the thought, and for a split second is concerned him. Just at the thought of Iruka being a father figure to his student made his heart feel all warm and fuzzy, Kakashi wasn't used to warm and fuzzy feelings. It'd been so long since he felt anything even remotely similar.

He found himself thinking about the school teacher more often than he found necessary. Sure, when he was bored at home maybe a thought or two about Iruka, among other things, would be normal. Thinking about Iruka when he was horny was an absolute given, how could he not? But during missions, meetings, and social outings? That was too much, wasn't it?

"I'll be off, Naruto."

He waived to the boy and made the hand signs to teleport over to the hokage's tower. He had a meeting to attend.

 

He'd been trying to sit through the weekly jonin meeting with the hokage but his mind drifted off when Tsunade had mentioned something extra hands around the borders since Konoha was expecting an envoy from Kirigakure, who weren't on the best of terms with Konoha, but things were starting to look up. Basically, Tsunade had mumbled something about being on high alert in case they were planning something funny, that much Kakashi had heard, but he was too busy thinking about how Naruto saw him leaving Iruka's apartment on multiple occasions and now he'd been answering a hundred million questions from two overly curious twelve year old kids about his personal life.

Sakura, though not as much as Naruto, loved Iruka. He had no doubts, since Naruto had told her about Kakashi  _sleeping over_ , that she'd ask questions like the boy had.

_What are you talking to Iruka-sensei about? Why were you at his house so late? Does he always let you sleep over? Are you guys friends?_

As far as he was concerned, the kids had no knowledge about them ever knowing each other before team seven was put together. It was true, though. They'd only ever saw each other in passing and heard of each other through word of mouth before officially meeting. A very small part of Kakashi wished he met Iruka much earlier in life, he was becoming some familiar that Kakashi hadn't known he wanted. Maybe if he knew someone like Iruka when he was younger....

_Ahh, there's no use thinking like that. I cant change the past.._

"Hatake." Tsuande's voice shook him from his thoughts. "If I can have a moment of your time."

The room around his was slowly starting to empty, Kakashi approached the hokage and offered up his ear.

"I have a mission for you, I'm sending Naruto and Sakura with Guy's team instead, there's something else I need you for."

"Of course, Tsunade-sama."

 

* * *

 

 

Hiro had been giving Iruka an odd look all day in between lessons. He hadn't paid much mind to it at first, he figured the younger man was jealous and being a brat about the situation. He hadn't spoken much, either. Had something been weighing on Hiro's mind? As a friend, Iruka was worried.

"Hiro, did I do something to upset you?" He finally asked during their lunch break.

"No! It's just... I've been assigned a mission..."

"During a school week? It must be important."

"I guess so. Tsunade-sama wants me to get more field experience before the jonin exam in two months, she said this is the perfect mission for that. Although, it is just escort work. I haven't gotten the details yet, but it must be someone important." 

More than anything, Hiro sounded nervous, and was clearly on edge about something. It had to be more than just getting experience.. What was making Hiro so nervous?

"It must be, I'm sure you'll do great, Hiro-San." Iruka smiled, lightening the mood a little bit.

"Sorry for shooting such weird looks at you all day," he apologized sincerely, "I'm the only chunin on the mission, it's me and two other jonin, one of them being the apple of your eye."

"Kakashi? I thought he... Ah, it doesn't matter. He's a good guy, at least from what I've seen so far, so don't worry too much. If he gives you a hard time just tell him I'll kick his ass when you guys get home."

"Thanks, Iruka."

"No problem. Now, get back to work. I believe there's some notes that still need to be written on the board before the students get back."

"Yeah, Yeah, of course!" Hiro smiled brightly, which made Iruka smile in return.

He hated the see the other feeling down. Hiro has nothing to worry about with Kakashi on his team, hopefully. During a mission, Iruka didn't see Kakashi as the type to let personal business or feelings get in the way. Truthfully, Hiro should be more worried about Kakashi while roaming around the streets in Konoha, but if he hadn't said anything to the young Casanova yet, he probably never would. As intimidating as Kakashi was, Iruka doubted he'd be scary in that situation, but maybe he thought that simply because he'd seen the man drooling all over a pillow and wearing pink slippers two sizes too small. 

Iruka found himself chuckling at the sight, of he could see Kakashi like that everyday, he'd consider himself lucky. His hair had been messier than usual, a little flat on the side from the way he'd been sleeping, his boxers hung loosely around his waist, and those bright pink slippers Iruka had gotten as a present from a student in the past. It was domestic and at the same time it was adorable. It was a side of Kakashi not many people had the opportunity to see, Iruka really did feel like a lucky man. 

 

* * *

 

 

"An escort mission?" Kakashi questioned. He'd been pulled off of a d rank mission with his team for a simple B rank escort mission? Not that he minded, it was better than watching Sakura and Naruto sulk over Sasuke while delivering a scroll to the land of water.

He did empathize with his theam, though. He understood their pain, kakashi felt it too, but he'd been trying his best to focus on his work and moving forward, but as a man who has already lost so much it was unfortunately familiar to loose his student, too, even if it did hurt. To the kids, it was new, it was a wound still raw and open, it'd be something they'd feel guilt and hurt toward for a very long time. Kakashi had wanted to explain it was a part of life, but that's never what anyone wants to hear after loosing someone. Just like they felt, Kakashi feels he should have done more to help save the young Uchiha from falling into the darkness, and into the grasps of Orochimaru. He had no right to tell the kids to move forward, they would come around in their own time, and time was the only thing that could heal their wounds. For now, they needed to feel hurt, among the many other emotions coursing through their system, in order for them to get stronger and to move forward.

"Yes, an escort mission." The hokage's voice pulled him away from his thoughts yet again. "It's a daimyo and his two children, they asked for you specifically. I guess you escorted Bari-sama before, do you recall?"

Kakashi knew immediately who he was, an older, heavy set man with thinning brown hair, and the brightest blue eyes he had ever seen. Bari-sama had flirted with Kakashi (among other things he had tried to do) years ago, he'd been barely over the age of eighteen at the time. It seemed so long ago, yet at the same time it seemed like yesterday. It was hard to forget a man who creeped him out yet had such beautiful eyes, it was a shame they'd belonged to such a disgusting man. Duty was duty, though. Kakashi would suck it up for two weeks and listen to his endless bantering and flirting, he might have to smack his hand away a few times, but he could bare it. Besides, he wasn't alone on the mission. Another jonin, a woman around his age named Sanna, and the little Casanova from Iruka's classroom, Hiro.

"I remember him," Kakashi finally said. "I wish I didn't, though."

"I hear he's a little on the touchy-feely side, but try to remain at a healthy distance from him, Hiro-kun as well. He's a very attractive young man, if I had another choice I wouldn't assign him, either." The hokage said with a sigh of defeat.

"Did he request him as well?"

"Not so much, you were a request, he was demanded. I'm placing Sanna on your team because she's one tough lady, you'll be able to relax a little with her around. Knowing her, she won't handle the daimyo's shit."

"That's very good to hear, Tsunade-sama. When do we leave?"

"In the morning, you three will meet at the west gates at dawn and travel to a meet point in our neutral territory where Bari-sama and his daughters will be waiting." She passed the copy nin a thin scroll. "All the extra details are in here, you're expected back in two weeks. You may bump into some trouble, there's been talk of bandits hiding in the mountains, so stay on alert."

"Yes, ma'am." He plucked the scroll from her fingers and immediately jutsu'd himself home.

He had a mission to prepare for.

 

* * *

 

Kakashi waited for Naruto to leave before jumping down in front of Iruka's door, it'd been partly open and he startled Iruka, though not purposely, as he held the door from closing in his face.

"Kakashi!"

"Yo!" He waived and walked inside. He slipped off his shoes and pushed his mask down around his neck. "Long time no see."

"Ah, yeah. I made extra," Iruka gestured towards the kitchen. "If you're hungry, that is. It's not ramen, I assure you."

"Oh? What'd you make?" The scent in air gave it away, but he just wanted to hear Iruka say it.

"It's fried shrimp and rice, I made some roasted vegetables, as well. I've been trying to get that damn brat to eat at least a little healthy, but he refused to touch any of his veggies."

Iruka had continued to ramble about his dinner with Naruto as Kakashi made his own plate and heated it up in the microwave. It was nice to have someone to talk to about things that weren't killing or missions, they talked about the people and the places they'd seen, and things such as their plans for the day, or Iruka would rant on about his lesson plans for the week. It was so natural to talk to Iruka, it didn't even matter what the topic of conversation was, Kakashi looked forward to it.

In a way, it was just like Naruto had said. Even with Iruka's disability he was such a vibrant and lovely person, not that Kakashi had expected anything different. It was a little bit of a curve when they first talked, but it didn't seem to matter. He'd never been able to communicate with someone so easily before, Kakashi felt venerable yet safe, he felt open without feeling like he spilling too much. Simplest way to put it, Kakashi felt like he was simply being himself. He wasn't the copy ninja in Iruka's eyes. He wasn't the master of a thousand jutsus, or the cold blooded Kakashi that everyone knew him as. Very few people simply saw him as himself, and Iruka was one of them.

"I hope it's good," Iruka had been watching him closely as he ate, but his gaze was never scrutinizing, simply curious.

"It's delicious, Iruka. I love it."

His cheeks flushed as he smiled, "that makes me very happy to hear."

It hit Kakashi rather hard, the realization of himself being happy shouldn't have been so hard to take, but it was. He was happy, but not simply happy, he was happy with Iruka. The attraction had been there for months, they'd catch glimpses of each other across the way in the missions room, or in the streets. He'd seen Iruka out many times before, their eyes would meet, Iruka would blush and look away, and Kakashi would loose to nerve to speak to him. It shouldn't have surprised him at all, he'd been crushing on the guy for months now, but after finally having him after such a long wait, Kakashi didn't want to let it go.

Iruka wasn't some body that was willing and open for him to use. He was much more than warmth and survival, it wasn't just sex and having drinks. It was so much more.

The moments Kakashi looked forward to most where sitting and talking to him, he liked hearing Iruka speak of mundane things, his voice was so full of emotion, just like his eyes. He was like a breath of fresh air that Kakashi didn't know he needed. It was way too soon to say it was anything more than  _like,_ but damn it Kakashi liked him _a lot_.

He didn't think he had it in him to look forward to a future with someone, but when he was with Iruka, whether they be cuddled up in bed, or sitting across from each other at the dinner table, he didn't feel any guilt, any pain, there was no heartache or sadness, Kakashi didn't feel anything but content.

As Iruka laughed at a dumb joke he made, it really hadn't been funny, but his heart swelled in his chest. Warmth spread throughout his body as he watched Iruka's eyes crinkle shut as he threw his head back and laughed. It was such a beautiful sight, and such a beautiful thing to hear, as well. Iruka was a beautiful man all around, through and through. He was handsome, he was sexy, he was every word that was a synonym with attractive. Hell, he was damn near perfect.

"I leave for a mission in the morning, Naruto and Sakura are going out with Gia's team instead."

"Oh, I know. Hiro told me you were both on a mission together, and Naruto went on and on about a mission with busy brows-sensei." Iruka rolled his eyes at the nickname. "I'm going to give Gai my condolences before they leave."

"He loves it, honestly. He has enough energy to deal with at least one hundred kids and still not get tired. I don't know how he does it," Kakashi said. "But I wish him the best of luck, as well."

"Oh, I told Hiro I'd tell you to be nice to him. He's worried you hate him because of me. Or, I should say, you dislike him because he's sure I've told you about his many advances on me." Iruka had an amused tone, he sighed and shook his head in disbelief. "Since when does he care? Me dating or not dating has never stopped him before. You must be really scary."

"Do you find me scary?" Kakashi deliberately ignored the part about Hiro, he didn't care much for the guy, anyways.

"Huh? Not at all! I think you're amazing! And I feel much safer when you're here with me, I promise."

"Is that so?" Kakashi found himself smiling at the statement. Keeping the village safe was his job, but to keep one person safe? Was he capable? He hadn't been able to keep his team from the past safe.. Obito, Rin, Minato... But he pushed those thoughts into the back of his mind and looked at what was in front of him.

He saw Iruka, wide chocolate eyes, a pink hue at the ends of the scar that bisected his nose, his lips looked so damn kissable and soft. His tan skin- which was getting darker, he must have been out in the sun a lot recently, and his hair that was down and around his shoulders. Kakashi wanted to push the strands behind his ears and kiss him hard until he was breathless.

"I'll keep you safe," Kakashi declared after a short silent moment. "I promise you that."

"What're you saying, Kakashi?" The teacher looked confused, but the look was wiped off his face as Kakashi leaned across the table to kiss his lips.

"I can't spend the night, but I'd like to stay as late as possible." He said. "Can we take this into the bedroom?"

"Y-Yes..." Iruka panted, suddenly overcome with lust. He too had a swelling in his heart, his chest tightened as Kakashi stared into his eyes before standing on his feet and taking Iruka's hand to lead him into the bedroom.

What had the look been? Iruka wondered, he'd never had anyone look at him in such a way. The look in Kakashi's eyes wasn't hunger, it wasn't lust, it looked more like admiration and something much deeper and stronger that Iruka couldn't place.

 

They were all tangled limbs and soft breathing after hours of making sweet love, and this time they remembered the silencing jutsu. (You're welcome, Anko!) 

Iruka had his face burrowed into Kakashi's shoulder, breathing in his scent and embracing his warmth. Kakashi was writing sweet words into his thighs,  _sexy, tempting, delicious, breath-taking._ His fingers traced every inch of skin they could reach, when Kakashi's fingers traced over the soft and supple skin of Iruka's bottom, he wrote out  _mine,_ followed by,  _home._

"Home?"

_Your body is like home to me._

"Care to elaborate on that?"

_There's no where else I'd rather be._

"Are we still talking about my ass?" Iruka questioned, "Or..?"

"I'm talking about you, Iruka." Kakashi said softly into the dark room, he want ready to admit it to Iruka in a way he'd understand. So Kakashi settled with,  _what do you think, sensei?_

Iruka huffed before suctioning his lips to Kakashi's neck, sucking red marks on to his sensitive skin.

"I want you to touch these and think of me while you're gone," he said in between kisses and bites along Kakashi's neck and chest. He left bite marks, hickeys, and small bruises in the path. "And make sure you come home to me, and not just my body. I'll have your favorite sake waiting for you."

_I'd be an absolute fool to not come home to you._ Kakashi etched the symbols into Iruka's side, his touch was soft and slow, leaving Iruka with goosebumps.

"I'd be such an idiot to not come home to you," Kakashi heard himself say before rolling Iruka over and giving his neck equal treatment.

As he peppered kisses along tan skin, Kakashi made a silent vow to continue to make Iruka feel protected and safe with him around. It was too early in their relationship- could he even call it that?- to promise anything else, but at the very least Kakashi would make Iruka feel secure. Nothing would happen to him as long as he was around. 

This time he would not fail.

This time he was strong enough to keep the promise.

With someone new to protect, and a strong feeling in his heart, Kakashi refused to fail yet another person he cared about.

The time he was going to make things right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> naruto is a little dense, but oh well.  
> Kakashi is smitten beyond belief.  
> Iruka is having way too many emotions that he's no sure he knows how to deal with!
> 
> Next chapter issss... hiro and kakashi! That'll be a whole lot of fun, for sure!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not 100% satisfied with this chapter, but yay for another update, right?!   
> Anyways, let me know what you think! :)

Hiro had been the first person to arrive at the gates, but he didn't need to wait long for Sanna to show up. Kakashi, as usual, had been late to the occasion.

He spent the night with Iruka, even though he had said he wasn't going to. The chunin had fallen asleep in his arms and he didn't have the heart to untangle himself and slip away. No one in their right mind would have, in his defense. He hadn't told his teammates that, though. He gave them the usual excuse about an old lady needed help with her cat, you know, the usual mumbo-jumbo.

They didn't believe one word of it, but didn't press on.

Tsunade had been right about Sanna, she looked tough, and wore many battle scars across her exposed skin. On her right arm it looked like a burn mark, it had traveled past the hem on his gloves as well, and showed on her fingertips. She wasn't unattractive by any means, her skin was an olive tone, her hair was silky black and straight, she worse it in a messy bun on her heard with her forehead protected being used as a headband to keep loose strands out of her face. Her scars seemed to add character, really. It was like no matter what life threw it her, she could take it head on, it may leave a scar or two, but she'd always win in the end.

She sounded the same way as she looked. Her voice was deeper, but didn't lack so much femininity that she would be mistake for male. Sanna had a serious look in her eyes, but spoke with fact and certainty with every statement. She could be telling a flat out lie and still sound believable.

Hiro seemed intimidated by her, and Kakashi found it amusing. He didn't need to do anything to Hiro, not that he had planned to, Sanna would do all the scaring with her serious looks and sometimes threatening words. She wasn't having any of Hiro's shit, and Kakashi was the last person to try and get on her bad side. He figured she'd probably win if push came to shove and they fought. So, the copy nin was being a very good boy and following the instructions of the team captain.

"We're almost there, keep it up, Hiro! There's no slowing down now! Pick up the pace!"

"Yes ma'am!" Hiro grunted and forced more chakra to his feet as the ran across the thick branches of the famous Konoha oak trees. They were about to leave the boarder of Konoha and into neutral territory.

"So I hear you both have a history with this Bari-dipshit?" Sanna asked moments later as they neared the area.

Hiro tensed up immediately and nodded, which didn't please Sanna very much because she expected words instead of simple nod, but she didn't pry. She looked over to Kakashi with her cold grey eyes, ones that remedied Kakashi of his own.

He wondered if they lived similar pasts.

"He grouped me a couple times in my anbu days," Kakashi just shrugged. "Said I had a tight little ass, but it was never more than that. I had almost attacked him the first time he did it, but he laughed it off and allowed me to continue being his escort."

"Kind of the same for me, too." Hiro said. "But I had been escorting him back from the land of iron where he had a heavy drinking match with a few other daimyos and.. well, let's leave it at that."

Kakashi hadn't let it go that far in his experience, but Bari has tried back then as well. Hiro didn't need to say it at all because Kakashi already knew.

"Tsunade-Sama wanted me to make sure he doesn't lay a damn finger on either of you, she said she'll back me up if I have to break every finger he owns." Sanna, almost unbelievably so, sounded even more serious than before. "If he even thinks about touching you, I'll chop his dick off and feed it to the wolves."

"You're slowly becoming my favorite woman, like ever." Hiro smiled then, making the captain roll her eyes. There was the slightest blush on her cheeks.

"Shut up, pretty boy."

"Oh, you think I'm pretty?!"

"You sound way too excited about being called pretty, Hiro-San..."

"Shut it, Hatake!"

* * *

 

Iruka found himself waiting for the hokage inside her other office, the one she had made for her in the hospital. A few days a week she let herself take a little "stay-cation", and spend her day at the office in Konoha Hospital. Her officer there was much bigger and brighter, it had more personal belongings around, like photos and books, pretty much everything that wasn't related to being hokage. She still did a lot of her paperwork there, but she left it up to the missions room on those days to pass out any mission that wasn't S ranked. The jonin commander would pass out anbu missions on the days Tsunade was in her other office, as well.

It all worked out.

She was surprised to see Iruka, but it was a pleasant surprise at least.

"Oh! Iruka-sensei! What can I do for you?"

"Is that... offer still on the table?" He asked sheepishly, rubbing the end of his scar as he looked down towards his lap.

"Table?" Tsunade had to think for a moment before the light bulb went off. "The hearing aids?" She said as they made eye contact again.

Iruka nodded, "yes, about that.."

"I thought you had no interest in them.. Since you've been living like this for almost ten years now."

"Well, it's just that.. I've been thinking... and...." his face was red and he didn't even have anything to be embarrassed about!

"Have you... maybe fallen for someone?" Now Tsunade had a devious looking grin on her face. Iruka hated it.

"No! Well, not really! It's not just about him, Tsunade-sama!" He said defensively. "I'd like to hear what Naruto sounds like, too! And my friends! I've forgotten what birds sounds like, I wanna hear the sound of rushing water and the school bell when it's lunch time! I hate that I only pick up certain sounds but they're so mixed up and jumbled that I have no idea what they are!"

"Iruka..."

"Do you know what it sounds like for me? It's either nothing or disoriented and random noises that I can't distinguish. I've always cared, I just didn't think it was something that could be fixed," he explained, "but if it can be fixed I'd like to at least try. If you're still willing, I'll-"

"I'm more that willing, Iruka. While I have a moment, I'd take to take a look at your ears and look over your scans again. I'll set up an appointment for another scan so we have a more up to date version of your inner ear condition."

 

* * *

 

 

Bari looked exactly the same as Kakashi remembered, Hiro had visually stiffened as they approached his carriage. Sanna patted his shoulder to help him calm down, but it didn't seem to work. The old man stepped out of the carriage, his daughters tucked into his sides. They look identical, both with long dark hair and big bright eyes like their father. They had a serious expression on their face despite Bari being overly expressive and flushed as the sight of his "two favorite men".

"Kakashi-Channn! Hiro-channn!" His voice rang. "I'm so happy to see you~!"

Before he could make it over to them- he had his arms out in hopes of a group hug- Sanna had stepped in front of them with a smile on her face to block the old Daimyo.

"No touching. Tsunade-Sama's orders." She said, and sounded a lot happier that she was probably supposed to sound.

The daimyo pouted, but went back into his carriage with his daughters.

So far, so good.

Hiro took the left side, Kakashi took the right, and Sanna had taken the head of the carriage. It'd be ideal to have one more person on the mission to cover the rare, but most people were out on other missions, and they were short staffed to begin with. After the attack during the chunin exams, more ninja were left on village duty, some patrolled the village and extra chunins were assigned to the gates. Tsuande didn't want to risk sending out too many people at once, so three people would have to do.

Kakashi had felt bad for hiro, truthfully. Regardless of how he felt about the man personally, he was obviously tense and nervous around the daimyo. Whatever had happened between them had left a nasty scar in Hiro's mind. No matter how hard to tried, he couldn't loosen up. Every time Bari spoke, it only made it worse.

During the trip, Hiro had mentioned his distaste towards the daimyo in greater detail. There was unwanted touching and his hair had been longer at the time, Bari had a habit of stroking Hiro's long strands and smell them, saying how beautiful the young man smelt.

"It wasn't so much the touching that bothered me," he had said. "It was the things he said that I couldn't forget. He's tolerable when he's sober, but when he's drunk..."

Hiro hadn't said anything more after that, but Kakashi knew from experience the guy had quite a mouth on him after a night of drinking. He had told Kakashi how cute he was, and how toned his body must have been under all of his clothes, and confined to make lewd remarks about his body, his skin, and his hair as well.

But Hiro was a friend of Iruka's, So Kakashi didn't plan on letting anything happen to him.

 

* * *

 

 

"So.. what do you think can be done?" Iruka asked nervously, looking over the scans with the hokage.

"Well, with your case a hearing aid alone won't work. Because of the head trauma you received, your ears pick up sounds just fine, but your inner ear isn't sending the right signals to your brain, making it unable to be received correctly, which is why you can hear some things, but they don't sound right." She started to explain. "But there is something I can still do."

"What is it?"

"A cochlear implant, it'd be used to completely bypass your inner ear and make its own sound, using an electrical charge to deliver the sound to your brain. It's a surgical procedure, though. Would that be alright?"

"I would have to think about it.." Iruka said, it wasn't like he was afraid or anything, but he totally was. He'd grown used to living this way, did he really want to change?

"You should talk to your friends and see what they think, but the decision is yours in the end, and I'm more than willing to help you out. I'll give you until the end of the month to decide. After that, I'll need to focus more of rebuilding efforts and whatnot."

"Thank you, hokage-sama." Iruka got to his feet and bowed before exiting the room.

He wasn't sure how he felt about a surgical procedure. He'd been living like this for ten years, it'd become a part of his every day life, and also something he'd become accustomed to. It wouldn't be putting anyone out, really, if he went through with it and was able to get some, if not all, of his hearing back.

It would be nice to hear how Hiro and Aiko sound, as well as his students. They were people he spent a good portion of his time with, he'd been curious about the sound of their laughter, their cries, and even their complaining. His students did a lot of that, too, but so did Hiro.

There was Naruto, as well. He imagined the boy to have a loud and exuberant voice that matched his upbeat personality. And he thought of other past students, as well. Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba... the list went on and on. Former teammates came to mind, like Hayate, Kurenai, Genma and someone who he considered a great friend, Anko. All of her teasing, her jokes, and her good advice. Iruka wondered what it all sounded like.

He'd been thinking about Kakashi as well, but didn't want to base his decision off a man he'd been crushing on from afar that he finally had the chance to get to know, even if what he'd seen so far has been nothing but amazing. Kakashi was exactly that, too. He was charming and sweet, a damn good kisser and had good taste in alcohol. He was caring and gentle when he was with Iruka, they had nice conversations, shared amazing meals, and had mind blowing sex, but the cuddling afterwards was always the best. He'd feel Kakashi's heartbeat as he rested his head on his chest, and Kakashi would wrap his arms around Iruka, almost possessively so, but he felt warm, and he felt safe. Even if he would never hear Kakashi, it was more than enough for him to feel the other man. Maybe Iruka had just convinced himself of that...

What Iruka wanted most, though, was to be able to hear the sound of running water again. He had memories of sitting out by the waterfall in Konoha's forest with his father after they trained. Iruka would sit with his father on the rocks and eat their packed bentos after a long morning of practice drills. He was a new academy student, and his father couldn't be any prouder. He wanted to make Iruka the best shinobi the world had ever seen, and even if that would never happen, Iruka hoped he still made his father proud. He wanted to take Naruto out to the waterfall one day to train and eat lunch afterwards.

There was also the sound of fireworks that Iruka missed. The sound of music at festivals. He really, really, REALLY missed music. Growing up, the old woman who lived next door to him had played a handful of instruments and often played them while sitting outside. Iruka had grown to love the sound of a bamboo flute early in the morning, and the sound of drums at night. His mother had played piano after long stressful missions, as well. He'd listen to the sound of the keys with stars in his eyes. Maybe he'd learn to play an instrument if he did get his hearing back. 

It wasn't just people that Iruka wanted to hear again, but things. He wanted to experience nature in all its glory again. It wasn't enough to have the sun beating down on his skin, he wanted to hear the birds in the sky, the breeze rushing through the leaves, the sound of children playing and small animals rustling through the bushes.

Just like his mother's voice, he wanted to remember what those around him sounded like, as well as the sounds of nature around him. Maybe he'd even be able to be an active ninja again.

There wasn't much to think about, really. Iruka had just been nervous. He made it down the hall before turning back around and striding back into the hokage's office.

"Tsunade-sama, I-"

"It's alright Iruka." She smiled. "I know it's nerve wracking when the word surgery is involved, but-"

"I want to do it. I don't know what I was thinking. I'd like to be useful for Konoha, again."

"You're already useful, Iruka. We'll talk about the finer details tomorrow, Alright? Go get some rest for now."

Again, Iruka bowed before exiting the room.

_Im really going to_ _do_ _this, huh?_

* * *

 

 

Surprisingly, things were going rather well on the mission. Every time Bari would try and reach out and touch one of the men, Sanna was there to smack his hand away gracefully, holding a pleasant smile on her face. After the third, "I'll snap your fingers off if you attempt to touch them again" he seemed to have taken the hint. He shut the blinds on the door of his carriage, and didn't speak to any of the ninja. He was most likely upset, and to have been so embarrassed in front of his children.. Ah, Kakashi thought he deserved it, anyways. He doubted Hiro cared much either, he was just happy to get the attention off of him.

They stopped and rested early the next morning in a small village to eat some breakfast. The planned on stopping a few miss south later on to find a place to either camp out, or a bath house to sleep in.

They'd gotten a private room to eat in, Sanna sat to the daimyo's right, and his daughters were to his left, leaving Kakashi and Hiro directly across from him.

Breakfast consisted of eggs, toast and a strongly brewed coffee made to Bari-sama's liking. It was way too sweet, Kakashi couldn't stand the taste. The girls both wanted western styles pancakes, topped with whipped cream and strawberries, and of course they got what they asked for. They looked delicious, but Kakashi could feel a cavity forming just but looking at them.

"Hiro-chaaaannnn," Bari whined his name, "you have crumbs on your chin, let me get it!"

"I got it!" Kakashi found himself saying before Sanna could interject, and passed Hiro a napkin. "Here, I think you can manage to wipe it yourself, yeah?"

"Yes. Thank you, Kakashi-San." A soft blush painted his cheeks as he accepted the napkin and brushed the crumbs from his face.

"Be a little more careful when you eat, Hiro."

"I know.. but it was so good, I was starving." 

"You're always like that, I suppose." Kakashi guessed, it did seem like a very _Hiro_ thing to do.

"Oh, I see.." the daimyo nodded his head as he finally understood something, but of course there was nothing for him to understand aside from keeping his hands off Hiro. "So you two, is that how it is?"

"What?" The other two ninja said.

"You're... you know.." he wiggled his pinky finger in the air. "A thing. That's all I can think of, as to why you're not accepting my advances like you used to."

"I never-!" Hiro slammed his hands on the table, but before he could finished, Kakashi had a hand on his shoulder to keep him from standing.

"Two things. One, he was never accepting of such things from you. Two, yes we are. Out of respect, I would appreciate it if you kept your hands to yourself. That's no way to act in front of your children." Kakashi gently pushed Hiro back down in his seat, his hand stayed on his shoulder, squeezing gently. "I'd also appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone, since we aren't out in public yet."

Hiro and Sanna both looked equally surprised at the sudden, very false, statement. 

"Oh... of course, Hatake-San." Bari said formally and bowed shortly. "My apology."

 

* * *

 

 

Bari insisted Hiro and Kakashi share a room, and the girls would be with him. There wasn't any point in fighting it, they did get a private hot springs out of the deal and were spending the night. They'd be traveling for another few days before they'd get sight of an other bed. Really, Hiro wasn't so bad. He'd gotten a bad impression of the other before, thinking he was a big flirt with jealous tendencies, but seeing another side of Hiro opened his eyes. He was intelligent and witty, a bit of an air head at times, but he was nice and confident in himself.

"Thank you for earlier, Kakashi-San. You saved me from shoving a fork into his eye."

"We'd get into a lot of trouble if you did that," he commented, he'd been sitting on the bed reading Icha Icha. "But no problem."

"I know you didn't do it for  _me,_ but-"

"Who else would I have done it for?"

"Um, Iruka I guess."

"Well... I guess, but nah, I'm not that cold hearted. Don't believe everything you hear about me." Kakashi snapped the book shut and got to his feet. "I'm taking a dip in the hot springs."

"Right..." Hiro watched him as he made his way into the bathroom with a handful of towels. "I'll wait until you're done."

_Iruka, you really know how to pick him, huh? He's.. different, but not bad._ Hiro thought to himself.

Maybe he'd been thinking too much about the things he's heard about Kakashi instead of trying to get to know him. Really, he'd always admired the other man as a shinobi, but had been weary about him. They didn't know each other, but when he found out Iruka was sleeping with the copy nin, he'd been worried, but also a little jealous. Truthfully, he was jealous of them both. Iruka for getting to shag Kakashi, because let's face it, he's sexy and mysterious and probably has the body of a god. And also jealous of Kakashi.. well.. for the same reason, really. He'd been trying to get a date with Iruka for _months!_

Kakashi also stood up for him, and pretended to be his significant other just to get the creepy Bari-sama off of his back. That was... unexpected. He thought Sanna would have to keep the daimyo on a leash and wearing a muzzle, but Kakashi stepped in and told such a ,bold faced lie for Hiro. No one else would have done that, most likely. Kakashi even told him off, even if it was nicely, he put the older man in his place, making the Daimyo address Kakashi is a formal way.

The copy nin was a weird one with horrible taste in books, but to Hiro he wasn't half bad.

"I guess Iruka is in good hands," he said. "Very strong, sexy hands... hey, I got eyes, he's damn sexy." 

Hiro's mind drifted to other things, he sat there on the bed with a dumb grin on his face.

"What's up with that look?" Kakashi asked as he re-entered the room. His hair was wet and around his face. Only a towel hung over his hips, and a clothed draped over the bottom half of his face. Hiro's breath caught in his throat. He was right about Kakashi having some god like body, after all.

He didn't plan on telling Kakashi he was fantasizing about a threesome with him and Iruka.

"I was just thinking about stuff..."

"Right.. stuff.." Kakashi knew better than that. "Go soak. We got a long journey ahead of us still."


	6. Chapter 6

Kakashi probably should have dragged himself to the hospital after his mission, but he'd been in a rush to get home. Or more specificity to Iruka's home, sitting at his kitchen table drinking tea, or laying in bed with him having a wonderful conversation. He wanted to write pretty little words into his skin, and- well, none of that would happen if the gash in his side continued to bleed.

They'd ran into bandits in the mountains on the way home as Tsuande warned them. Sanna had healed it the best she could and put in a few makeshift stitches, which had held until a few hours before reaching the gates. She told him to get it checked out at the hospital, he said he was going to, but his feet were leading him towards Iruka's front door.

It wasn't terribly late, but it was well after dinner time. Kakashi's stomach was empty and in need of a proper meal, but his shirt was soaked with his own blood, and the scrapes on his thighs were starting to itch. Each bruise that scattered across his torso was becoming uncomfortable under the fabric of his shirt and the weight of his vest. Yeah.. maybe Sanna was right about the hospital after all.

The bandits had been a group of eight missing nin that attacked whoever was traveling on that mountain path for their money and personally artifacts to sell. They purposely avoided the mountain path to ensure the daimyo's safety, as well as the safety of his children. On the way home, it was the shorter trip, and they expected to run into someone.

The fight wasn't long, not by any means, but it was tough. Sanna was quick and efficient, and very skilled with her Katana, as well as her fire style jutsus. Hiro was light footed and strong, his chakra control was admirable, and he showed to have knowledge in earth style jutsu's as well. Kakashi, on the other hand, got the short end of the stick. He'd been faced with two opponents on his own, who were both bulky, heavy set men with fists that looked the size of Kakashi's head, and damn they were strong. He suffered a few injuries taking them down, but was able to win the fight in the end. A few bumps, scrapes and bruises wouldn't kill him. At least he hoped not.. he had been planning for a more admirable soldiers death, dying in the line of duty for the sake of Konoha, not by having a four inch gash over the side of his rib cage that would not stop bleeding. There was no way he was going to let THAT kill him.

"Kakashi!" Iruka swung the door open before he even had a chance to send out a wave of chakra to let him know he was outside. Then again, he didn't have much chakra left to be spreading about. Iruka must have felt the waver in his chakra as he was coming up the street.

"Hey," he greeted meekly. "How's it hanging?"

"You're bleeding!"

Now, Iruka was dragging him inside and into the living room. He pushed the table out of the way and laid Kakashi down the floor, instantly stripping him on his vest and his shirt, which got thrown off in some direction, Kakashi hadn't been paying attention, really. He was too busy staring at the look of panic and concern on Iruka's face. _It's ni_ _ce to see that he cares_ , Kakashi had said to himself,  _I haven't had someone look at me like that since..._

"How old is the wound?"

"About three days. It was sewed shut but reopened a few hours ago while I was running."

"I'll sew it properly, let me get my med kit."

"Wait.."

"What is it?" Iruka paused before getting to his feet.

"Water.." Kakashi mumbled. "Can I get some water, too?"

"Of course, and you can have some of the left over chicken and rice I had for dinner, but cleaning and stitching that wound comes first."

Iruka returned moments later with a med-kit. He cleaned the wound, and stitched it back together carefully after numbing it. Kakashi could feel the needle, but the pain was dull so he was grateful. The skin around the gash was tender and raw, but Iruka had gentle and careful fingers. He covered it with gauze and helped Kakashi sit up.

"Let me clean the other scapes and cuts, then we'll get you some food. Just a little bit longer..."

With food on the brain, Kakashi was able to hold it down while Iruka rubbed the antibacterial solution over his cuts.

_Thank you_ Kakashi drew into the skin of Iruka's arm, catching him a little off guard.  _I feel better._

"I'll patch you up the best I can, but I'm not a medical nin, there's only so much I can do," Iruka sighed. "But... thank you for coming here, you've been gone four days longer than anticipated, I was getting worried. You're a little beat up and bruised, but I'm happy to see you."

Kakashi let the words settle into his mind, he too was happy to see Iruka after almost three weeks of being away. It made him wonder if he'd been more seriously injured would he have acted the same, and dragged his half dead body to Iruka's doorstep just to see him again. He knew the answer to that, there was no doubt in his mind that he would, and it scared him a little as he realized it. More and more he was growing to like Iruka. Right now, what they had was casual. It was the occasional meal together, nice conversation, a date or two, and sleeping together. It was nice, but maybe Kakashi was starting to think of wanting more...

"More?" Iruka blinked in surprise.

"Huh?"

"You just mumbled something about wanting more. Wanting more of what? Me stitching you up?" He joked. "You're obviously tired, let's get you up and then to bed."

How could he object?

He sat patiently, sipping on ice water as Iruka microwaved the chicken and rice. When he did finally eat, it felt like it was his first meal in days! Which... it was. He savored every last bite, not leaving one crumb on the plate. Iruka laughed, and joked that Kakashi could lick all his dishes clean if he wanted to. For Iruka, Kakashi would do just about anything, even if licking all his dishes clean was a little on the weird side.

"I need a shower.."

"You do, but after you sleep."

Iruka lended him a clean pair of lounge pants to sleep in, he wandered off into the other room to finish some grading before he could call it a night. With no energy left to even complain, Kakashi tucked himself under the covers and let himself fall asleep.

It was late into the night when Iruka crawled into bed beside him, almost immediately wrapping his body around Kakashi's. He snuggled his head in the crook of Kakashi's neck and tangled their legs together.

"Thank you for coming home to me," Iruka whispered into his skin before he drifted off into sleep.

* * *

 

Kakashi's shower the next morning had been liberating, really. The sweat, dirt and dried blood from the mission washed off his skin with every stroke of soap he squeezed onto his cloth. The room was full of steam from the hot water, and filled with the scent of peppermint- it was Iruka's soap, after all, Kakashi preferred something unscented, but it was nice for a change. It left his skin smelling nice, and feeling soft. 

He'd woken up earlier than he would have liked, but Iruka was still sleeping in bed by the time he was dried. Kakashi had a scroll he needed to deliver to the hokage, but he also needed clothes. He'd slept in a pair of pants Iruka lent him, and his own uniform shirt was torn and bloody. Well, he didn't want to go their naked.. and Iruka was sprawled out on his bed and the spot beside him looked so comfortable and warm.

"It wasn't an urgent mission," Kakashi said to himself, trying to justify it. "And the sun hasn't even risen yet, I can spare a few more hours in bed."

It was a Saturday, too. Iruka didn't need to get up for school, they could sleep in. When was the last time Kakashi had a chance to sleep in? It'd truthfully been way too long, and he had no intentions of leaving Iruka before he woke up. With no hesitation, he found himself back in bed, curled up into Iruka warmth without a single regret.

 

* * *

 

They'd been enjoying a late breakfast when a loud knock came from the door, followed by a few mumbled cuss words and then a surge of chakra.

 It was Naruto.

"Did that dummy knock again like I'd hear him?" Iruka said to himself as he got to his feet. "Go put on some decent clothes before he comes in, yeah?"

"Of course," Kakashi was back in the bedroom in a flash, only to remember that his clothes were blood soaked and sweaty from the night before. He threw on one of Iruka's spare uniform, they were the same high and of a similar build, the shirt was a little tight around his shoulders, the pants a little snug around his hips, but it'd do for now. Most likely, Naruto wouldn't even notice.

He peeked out from behind the door to see Iruka making Naruto a plate of food. He sat down with a big grin on his face, eating happily as Iruka watched him. The look on his face... it reminded Kakashi of what Naruto had said to him a few weeks prior about Iruka being like a father to him. Iruka looked so proud and happy to see Naruto eating at his table, he'd mumbled something about just getting back from a mission the night before, just like Kakashi had.

"It was fun! I almost died, but it was totally fun!" Naruto was rubbing the back of his head as he laughed nervously. "But don't worry about me, Iruka-sensei! I'm super strong!"

"I know you are, but it's impossible for me to not worry about you." He confessed. "Just eat, alright? Tell me about the mission after."

Naruto has no objections and dug into his pancakes.

"Iruka-sensei makes the best pancakes, doesn't he?" Kakashi said to break the ice as he reentered the room.

"Heh?! What are you doing here?!"

"We had another sleepover."

"How often do you guys have sleepovers?" Naruto turned to Iruka with a suspicious look in his eyes.

"Sleepover?" Iruka asked curiously, looking back over to Kakashi. "Is that what you've been telling him?"

"It's not really a lie," Kakashi signed. "Is it?"

"When did you pick up sign language?" A blush painted his cheeks, suddenly.

"Hiro." He spelled out. "He owed me a favor."

"That's... really sweet of you to learn that for me."

"I used my sharingan to memorize it all, so I cheated, to be fair."

"He learned sign langue from Aiko when they dated," Iruka found himself saying absently. "He doesn't use it with me too often, though. Unless I keep saying _what_ because I can't read his lips well enough. He rambles on, sometimes."

Naruto looked back and forth between his teachers. He felt as if he should be seeing something, but he couldn't quite understand what that something was. He hadn't recalled them being so close before, but they were both ninja in the same village, and Naruto was a firm believer that everyone should be friends. He didn't have many himself, but if things were different he knew he'd be everyone's friend!

If it were Sasuke who were deaf, he knew he'd learn sign language for him too, the same with Sakura, even Shikamaru and Kiba. But even though he was friendly with them all, they never had frequent sleepovers... Naruto wasn't entirely convinced grown ups had sleepovers the way kids did! He didn't put it past Kakashi to lie to him about something so stupid.

"Should I learn it, too?" Naruto asked. "I mean, we're friends, we're like family, too. Kakashi-Baka-sensei even learned it for you."

"Ah, well..." Iruka rubbed the end of his scar sheepishly. "This may be a good time to tell you both my big news."

"Oh?" They both said. Kakashi finally sat down the table between the other two, resting his elbows on the table, and his chin in hand.

"I'm... looking into getting my hearing fixed. Tsunade-sama said there's a way I can get some, if not all, of my hearing back. It's a surgical procedure, though. Ah, I'm really nervous about it but, I really wanna do it..."

"Then you should!" Naruto smiled brightly. "I mean, I think I'd do the same thing!"

"I agree with Naruto," Kakashi said. "I think anyone would want to do it if they were in your shoes, but the choice is all yours to make."

"You wouldn't see me any different if I did?"

"Nah, I like you a lot, Iruka. That won't change."

"I like you, too!" Naruto agreed. "And I'd get to stuff my face with ramen and talk to you at the same time. That'd be awesome!"

"You'd choke if you did that!" Iruka shot back, but softened his expression quickly. That was a very Naruto thing to say, after all. "Thank you, guys. I really mean it."

The support and love and held radiating from them both was overwhelming, but heart warming. 

He could tell that from here on out, thinks were only going to get better.

 

Anko had supported his decision as well, she was the first person he told after he'd met up with Tsuande. They'd seen each other a day later, and Iruka was nervous about something.

"What's up, buttercup?" She had asked him. They were sharing tea early in the morning, she'd just returned from a mission the night before, and Iruka was awake early for school.

"It's just.. I've been thinking about something."

"Alright, don't tease me, what is it? And if it's about Kakashi's dick, don't spare any details." Anko winked, but read the mood rather quickly. It was something serious. "What's wrong, Iruka?"

"My ears, ah well... my hearing.. there's a way to fix it. And I'm seriously considering trying it."

"That's great! But.. you don't seem so happy?"

"I'm just nervous, what if it doesn't work?"

"What's there to loose, honestly? You either gain your hearing back, or you stay in the same predicament you're in now." She said. "Sure, getting your hopes up would really suck, but you wouldn't be any worse off if it didn't work, right? I think you should go for it if that's what you really want!"

"Yeah!" Iruka beamed. "I think so, too!"

His next step was to schedule a time to get it done, and he want in a rush, but he did need to work around his school schedule, as well as Tsuande's schedule. It may be weeks, or even months from now, but damn it he was getting excited!

Iruka watched the birds up ahead as they nestled into the tree branch, from here he could see they were fluttering their wings and chirping towards each other, soon... he'd be able to hear such a mundane thing again. The thought alone made him happy.

Iruka was happy. Really happy.

It'd been too long since he last felt like this. The smile on his face was starting to make his cheeks burn, but it didn't matter. His smile was genuine and pure, nothing was going to ruin that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh yeaaahhh! We're getting to the good stuff now ;)   
> I'm thinking there will be a few more chapters after this, probably no more than 2.  
> Thanks for reading so far!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me long enough to update this.. anyways, one more chapter to go after this! Yay! I hope you've all liked my story so far :)

\- a few weeks later-

 

It started to become a routine after missions, Naruto and Kakashi would both run straight to Iruka's apartment and seat themselves at the kitchen table to eat a hot meal. They'd usually help cook, unless one of them came back injured. Iruka would scold them to go get checked out at the hospital before eating, but assured them that there would be a hot plate of food waiting for them when they returned. It was usually Kakashi who got beat up the most; jumping in front of his kids to keep them out of harms way. Even though Iruka complained about the blood droplets on the tiles, he always patched Kakashi up the best he could before sending him off to a real medic. Naruto had been smart enough to just go to the hospital first, Kakashi was unfortunately a lost cause.

It was still rather early in the day. Iruka had bought a whole chicken, planning to season it and throw it in the oven to cook for a few hours. Naruto had a day off for once, and was over helping out around the house. He was peeling potatoes while Iruka was chopping up carrots and onions. As Iruka placed the chicken in the deep pan, Naruto had tapped his shoulder to get his attention. By the look on his face, Naruto had something on his mind, and whatever it was he needed to get it off his chest.

"Are you and Kakashi-sensei dating?" He asked. Iruka just blinked back at him, not sure how to answer. Naruto had such big blue eyes, he waited patiently for an answer, wearing the most innocent look on his face.

"I wish." Iruka huffed, but caught himself after the words rolled off his tongue. "Ah, sorry... it's nothing like that, Naruto. We're just really good friends."

The boy gave him a disapproving look, he clearly wasn't buying it. 

"You look like you really like him, kinda how I like Sakura-chan. She doesn't like me, but Kakashi-sensei likes you. So don't people date when they like each other?"

"What do you know about any of that stuff, anyways?" Iruka sighed, wanting to finish up on dinner and get this conversation over with. "How do you he even likes me?"

"He told me, duh!" Naruto replied simply. "We stopped at an inn on the way home and he had a few drinks, and said he couldn't wait to come home to you, Iruka-sensei. He said he wanted to eat the fried eggplant you make, and lay on your couch. Sakura thought it'd be funny to ask him stuff while he was drunk, and she asked if you two were dating and he said _yes_."

"He did?" 

"He did."

Iruka turned back towards the chicken, adding the carrots, onions and potatoes to the mix.

"Help me make the salad next, Naruto." He said after a moment. "The stuff is in the fridge."

In his mind, he tried to process the information. Deep down he knew they both really liked each other, it was different to hear it from Naruto of all people, he hadn't expected the boy to be the one to actually tell him.  

 

* * *

 

During the course of the last few weeks, Iruka had been meeting with Tsuande on a regular basis to talk about the surgery, which he officially agreed to do since the odds were in his favor. She predicted there to be about a sixty percent chance he'd gain most of his hearing back after the procedure, she was unsure how much of a fix it would be, but she had high hopes and a good feeling. Iruka trusted her, not only as his hokage, but as a person and as a medic. Seeing her smile as they talked about it eased his anxiety by a tenfold. To hear again.. it was almost a fantasy, one that could soon come true.

The more he thought about it, the happier and more excited he became. He could live without the disoriented sounds and the silence he laid himself in at night, even if he had grown used to the way things had been for him. It was his life, after all, and after losing so much, he'd grown to appreciate whatever was thrown his way. Iruka had always managed to make the best of every situation, good or bad, it didn't matter. To him, life was something you only had one chance to live, and he wanted to live it the best way he possibly could. When he lost his hearing, he though it was the end, but it had opened many doors for him in ways he hadn't realized. He made new friends, learned new skills, and was able to hone his other senses, and most of all he became so much better at feeling and identifying people's chakra. 

It would take a while to get used to the sounds of everything around him, but Iruka's stomach fluttered at the thought.

He couldn't wait to hear the birds.

He couldn't wait to hear his students, old and new.

He couldn't wait to hear his friends as they joked and teased him about the stupidest of things.

He couldn't wait to hear Kakashi.

He couldn't wait to hear Naruto.

He couldn't wait to hear Anko, his very best friend, who's voice he never heard before. Most of his Friends he knew from childhood, but anko was a more recent friend, and someone he'd even go as far as to consider family.

Iruka wasn't sure which he wanted to hear first, but dame was he excited. 

 

* * *

 

Kakashi was now comfortable enough to send a pulse of chakra into the house wards before simply walking in. Iruka could feel his chakra buzz throughout the house and as always welcomed him inside with a warm smile, even if he had his back to the door. Kakashi loved to hear his greetings. Iruka had been at the kitchen table with a stack of papers in front of hime.

"I've been wanting to talk to you," Iruka said as he put down his pen, he'd been grading for what felt like an eternity. "Nothing serious before you get nervous."

"Alright." Kakashi took the seat across from him. "What's on your mind?"

"Are we dating?" He asked, it came out more blunt than he wanted, but it did the trick.

"Are we?"

"Don't do that thing where you answer my question with another question, please."

"Let me rephrase that then, do you  _want_ to date me? I want to date you."

Iruka, despite him being equally as blunt in the first place, found himself red in the face at kakashi's confession.

"Of course I do. I like you, Kakashi. I like you a lot."

"I like you a lot, too." He said. "I... don't know if I really want everyone in our business though, more for your protection than anything. If anyone knows, it should just be close friends."

"I understand, though your precious students have already figured it out." Iruka teased. "I suppose you have a loose tongue when you drink."

"Heh? What did I say?" He scratched the top of his head, suddenly remembering the hoard of questions Sakura and naruto has been throwing at him, and how he hadn't really thought before answering them. "Oh yeah, that stuff... hopefully they keep their mouths shut. I'll have to speak with them."

"You're an idiot, you know?"

"Yeah, I'm a complete idiot."

"I like that about you."

"I like everything about you, except how cold your feet get at night."

"Shut up, I can't help it!"

Kakashi laughed and shook his head. "It's fine, because when you're cold that just means I get to warm you up."

They sat around for a while, talking about the most random things while they ate dinner and drank together. It was nice, moments like these made kakashi remember what it was like to feel comfortable and safe. He was always so used to having his guard up 24/7, but it was so freeing to just let everything go when he walked through Iruka's front door. Inside this tiny apartment, he wasn't sharingan kakashi, he wasn't the man who would one day be Hokage, or cold blooded kakashi- the name he was gifted as a young Anbu captain. In here, sitting in the kitchen drinking beer, laughing and smiling, he was himself. Kakashi was like any other man, one who was so full of love and happiness he didn't know what to do with it.

It was a feeling he could get used to.

"I'll be leaving again in a few days, I shouldn't be gone long." Kakashi said before downing the rest of his beer. "A week, tops."

"Is that so?"

"Don't miss me too much while I'm gone."

"I won't have to miss you if you come back." He smiled.

"And I always try my best to, you know that."

"I do know that. And you may be in for a surprise when you do get back."

"Is that so?" A mischievous smirk spread across kakashi's lips.

"Not like that!" Iruka blushed. "Jesus, is that all you think about. Don't answer that, I know the answer is  _yes._ Anyways, I'm talking about my surgery. Earlier today we planned a day, a week from now."

"Wow, you're really going to do this?"

"I am, kakashi." 

"I'm glad for you, I really am. It's a very big step you're about to take, but if this is going to help you and make you happy, then I'm happy for you as well."

"Thank you. I'm still nervous, but it's slowly starting to turn into excitement." He said. "I can't wait to hear all the things I've forgotten about."

Iruka laid his head back, staring up at the wall.

"I remember the first time I met you." He said softly, kakashi almost hadn't heard it. "I mean, when we were young and didn't really know each other. It was the chunin exams in the land of waves, it was the first one Konoha participated in after the kyuubi attack. The third had you as one of his Anbu guards."

"You remember that?" Kakashi blinked, almost shocked at the sudden memory. Honestly, he'd mostly forgotten about that time in his life. Most of the memories around the time of Minato's death were repressed and purposely forgotten.

"I do. I thought I was going to die because I saw an Anbu without his mask, even if it was on accident. I didn't realize until a few years ago that the Anbu was you."

"Really?"

"Really. I'd seen you around but couldn't quite remember where I saw you before, and one day it just hit me, you were the Anbu I accidentally caught training in that abandoned field near the inn we were staying at."

  
That year, the third had brought Iruka along with him the the chunin exams to give him a taste of what the exams were like. It was supposed to be motivation for Iruka get serious now that he had graduated from the academy, but for the young boy it was more like watching a sports match and he was cheering for his home team.

Of course, he wouldn't be himself if he wasn't getting into trouble. He kept slipping out and trying to "train" when the third wasn't looking, and one day he succeeded when he noticed the usual silver haired Anbu wasn't around. He caught said Anbu in the training field with his mask off, looking down at his hand in disbelief and agony as blue lightning crackled around his fingertips. Out of anger, the Anbu who Iruka now knows was kakashi, punched the tree beside him, causing it to spark and catch fire from the lighting that extended from his closed fist.

Iruka panicked at the small fire that started to spread within minutes. He rushed out, startling kakashi.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" He yelled. "You shouldn't be here!"

"The forest is gonna catch on fire, you idiot!" Iruka yelled back. He casted a water jutsu, putting out a portion of the first, and kakashi followed up with the same water style technique, only bigger and farther advanced, setting out the flames for good.

"I wouldn't have let that happen, unlike you, I can cast a jutsu big enough to put out a big fire." The anbu responded, pulling his mask back up, and snatching the dog mask from the ground. "Now get back to the inn before the third finds out you slipped away, _again._ "

"You slipped away first, hound, you're the one who's supposed to be watching me." Iruka replied back, frowning at the anbu.

The teen huffed and looked away.

"Let's just keep this between us, then." 

Iruka pouted and figured it was best to just agree.

 

"That was a very long time ago," kakashi said, bringing them both back to the present. "I'd almost forgotten it."

"You know.. I remember what you sounded like then, but.. I'm starting to wonder if it's actually how you sounded, or what I imagine you sounded like." Iruka said, but it sounded more like he was saying it to himself. "Was your voice as light and airy as I recall, it was feminine, I had thought you were a girl at first, but maybe that wasn't you? Maybe it was someone else. Who knows anymore?"

Kakashi, who realized Iruka wasn't even looking at him anymore, decided not to say anything at all. His voice hadn't sounded anything like that, though he did get the occasional person who thought he had been a woman in anbu because of his slim body and young voice, but it hadn't really sounded feminine, and he certainly didn't sound that way now. At the time, he was going through puberty anyways. Maybe Iruka was right, kakashi didn't want to remember those days to begin with.

It was best to let Iruka think he was right, there was no harm in it.

"I'm gonna take a shower." The teacher said moments later to break their silence.

"Alright.." kakashi watched as Iruka dragged himself into the bathroom. "I wonder why he's beating himself up so much over this?"

Kakashi knew, though, that there was a chance he'd feel the same if he were in Iruka's shoes, so he didn't judge. He accepted it for what it was, and cleaned up the kitchen while Iruka took a shower.

He wished he could say he remembered much about Iruka from back then, but he knew that the Iruka now was the one he cherished and loved, the Iruka back then had been a trouble maker who just happened to help kakashi out the one time even though he didn't really need it. They weren't friends, and had only seen each other that one time until kakashi had finally gotten out of anbu. He'd seen the boy around the Hokage tower, either drinking tea with the third or getting in trouble for causing chaos around Konoha. He thought Iruka was a brat, and didn't care much about him. Now, that was a different story, now he felt blessed to have a man like Iruka in his life.

Kakashi found himself laughing at the similarities between Naruto and Iruka and he wondered if Naruto would end up being as caring and sweet as Iruka. Even if he never become Hokage, kakashi knew that naruto would be something special just like Iruka. It pleased him to know that naruto has someone like Iruka in his life who would lead him on the right path, and eventually turn him into an amazing young man, and one day an amazing husband and father.

Minato would be proud, he caught himself thinking, kushina would be, too. They'd love Iruka so much, and would be proud to have Iruka as a mentor and friend to their son. 

Kakashi missed them, but it was what it was, and he couldn't change the past, he could only live in the present and look forward.

Finally, things were starting to really look up for him. Everything was coming together. His team was progressing and improving on a daily basis, he was finally happy with his love life, and begin around the kids and Iruka was a much more heartwarming feeling than he originally anticipated, but he was glad. 

As Iruka walked back into the kitchen with his damp hair hanging over his shoulders, and a pair of black lounge pants hanging loosely off his hips, kakashi couldn't help but smile, and the realization hit him hard in the gut.

He was falling in love. His heart grew three sizes as Iruka stretched out his arms. He was falling in love with Iruka, with every inch of his tan skin, every stand of his dark hair, with his old scar that bisected his nose, with his adorable smile and expressive eyes. He was staring at Iruka like he was seeing him for the first time again and butterflies fluttered in his gut, making his whole body feel numb and weak at the same time.

Love was a scary thing, a _really_ scary thing.

Iruka raised an eyebrow in suspicion as kakashi continued to eye him, looking as if Iruka was some magical being standing before him. His cheeks were blushed, and Kakashi didn't blush often. 

"You've seen me naked a hundred times, why are you flustered?"

"No reason." He lied. "Just thought about something."

"It better not involve me being bent over a school desk," he warned.

"You know? You're really no fun, Iruka. That was one time I asked you to do that!"

"The answer will always be no!"

"Even if I've been a bad boy?" Kakashi teased, winking at Iruka who had an angry blush over his scar.

"You're _sooo_ lucky you're cute, Hatake Kakashi."

Kakashi was, indeed, very lucky.

He was cute, too, according to Iruka. 

He could live with being cute.


End file.
